


Fight for What's Right

by graxeful



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: A little different, Also some survival, But neither of them know it yet, Character Death, Domestic Violence, Fluff, I tag too much, Jefferson is such an asshole i love it, Laf is a mom friend, Lost AU kind of, M/M, Maria is a smol bean and must be protected, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Mutual Pining, No Smut, Office AU, Pining, Slow Burn, Some death, Some people die btw, There may be violence, but not really, do you have writer's block?, i am so bad at tags, i cant write that, jesus i have to stop tagging things, like with Jack and Sawyer and all of them, okay a LOT different, shipwrecked au, survival AU, this is gonna get darker, write a water scene!, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2018-08-12 20:30:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 21,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7947988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graxeful/pseuds/graxeful
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“Mind the language, Hamilton,” Jefferson said disapprovingly, leaning forward. Alexander took a step back and Jefferson leaned forward more, smiling broadly, and Alexander had a strong urge to punch the smug bastard in the face. So naturally, when Jefferson bent down (probably to taunt Alexander about his short stature), he pulled his fist back and connected it with Jefferson's face.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "...take a day off."

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first Jamilton fic and I hope you enjoy! I will be updating every Saturday with a new chapter.
> 
> lmao turns out I'm just gonna update when I have time, sorry guys :(

Alexander woke up bright and early Monday morning to birds chirping, the bright sun filtering in through his bedroom window, and the smell of freshly cut grass.

He hated it.

Mondays were the second best day of the week, second only to Fridays. Monday was the day he got to go into work and write new drafts and see Washington and actually get stuff done. But mornings sucked. The sun was too bright and everything was too loud, even the birds and faint sounds of cars passing outside. 

Alexander sat up, clutching his head. It was pounding, and with every movement Alexander made, it hurt more.

 _Shit. I forgot about last night_ , Alexander thought. He had gone out drinking with John and Hercules, and he’d had about eight drinks before Eliza had deemed them drunk enough and pulled them all of the bar stools and towards her car, where Lafayette was waiting in the passenger seat with a disapproving glare.

“You could have at least invited me,” the man said shortly and Eliza glared at him.

“Sorry, Laf,” Alexander remembered saying. “We called but you didn't answer.” His words were slurring together and he was smushed into the middle seat, his arm pressed against Herc’s side and his head resting on Laurens’s shoulder. Lafayette had just scoffed and looked out of the window.

But now wasn't the time for trying to remember the hazy details of last night. Alexander picked up his phone, squinting at the brightness, and checked the time. 8:39. _Shit._

“Ah, no!” Alexander cried. “I’m late!” he stumbled out of bed and tripped, hitting his hip on the bedside table. He ignored the pain and threw on a suit that probably needed washed. Alexander threw open the door and half ran down the hall, trying to find his shoes. They were nowhere to be seen. Instead, he found Laurens sitting on the couch, swallowing aspirin and water. 

“Have you seen my shoes?” Alexander cried. Laurens winced and shook his head. Alexander groaned and turned in a circle, finally spotting them in the corner on the floor. He grabbed them and put them on as he hopped over to the door, snatching his wallet and keys. He stepped outside and shivered. October had been unusually cold this year.

He hopped in his car and put the keys in, trying to turn it on. It didn't work, and Alexander saw that it was out of gas. Great. That meant the bus again, which would make Alexander even later. He probably wouldn't get to work until nine thirty. He jumped out of the car and slammed the door, running to the nearest bus stop.

~~~

By the time he walked through the front doors to work, Alexander was two hours late - and a mess. His work papers were sticking out of a binder and his laptop bag wasn't even closed properly, so a corner was sticking out. His shoulder-length hair, which he had forgotten to pull back, was knotted and matted from the cold October wind. His tie was loose and hung blearily on his chest.

Alexander ignored all that and focused on the walk to the elevator. His office was on the third floor, and all of the stairwells in the building were old, dark, and creepy. So were the elevators, but at least they didn't take as long.

Alexander reached the lift and pressed the button. He waited for the elevator doors to open and he fidgeted with his laptop case. He stopped when the doors slid open and revealed Angelica Schuyler.

“Hi, Alexander. You're looking great,” Angelica said dryly, looking him over with a piercing gaze.

“Thanks,” he replied, stepping into the elevator. “I woke up late and couldn't find my shoes.”

“Yeah, I guessed that, considering I stopped by your office earlier and you weren't there.” Alexander looked over at her, pressing the “three” button. “Oh, I just wanted to give you this. It's from Washington.” She held out a slip of paper as the elevator lurched upwards and Alexander took it. He stuffed it into his binder and tried to clean up his hair before reaching his floor. Unfortunately, the elevator doors slid open again and Alexander stepped off. “Bye, Alex,” Angelica said.

“Good-bye, Miss Schuyler,” Alexander said as he walked in the opposite direction. He passed Lee’s closed office door and turned into the break room, dropping off some memos that weren't due for another week. Then he left, walking farther down the hall to his office.

He opened the door and stepped inside, immediately shutting it behind him. He walked over to his desk and set his laptop down, then collapsed into the swivel chair he had stolen from Burr seven months ago. The man had only asked Alexander about it once, and when he said Burr wasn't going to get it back, he just sighed and walked away. Alexander just kept it.

He swiveled around on his chair but stopped when four or five papers flew out of his binder and fluttered to the floor. Alexander grumbled and picked up the papers, setting them on his desk. He then sat down again (without swiveling) and pulled out the rest of his papers. He grabbed the note from Washington and unfolded it, his eyes skimming the paper.

_Alexander-_

_You're needed for the meeting today in the break room at eleven. Don't be late and don't forget._

_Washington_

Alexander glanced at the clock on the wall to his left and looked back to the note. Then he did a double take, checking the clock again.

“Eleven!?” he shouted. “I should've been there five minutes ago!” He jumped up and pulled a hair tie out out of a desk drawer, grabbing a pen and a notebook. He pulled his hair back into a messy bun as he practically ran to the meeting. Washington was going to kill him.

He reached the break room in record time and burst in, cringing as the doors slammed loudly off of the walls. Everyone turned to look at him, and Alexander tried not to think about his tired, hungover state as he calmly closed the doors and walked over to the table where everyone else was sitting. He pulled out the only empty chair and sat down as quietly as he could.

“Nice of you to join us, Hamilton,” Washington said tiredly. Alexander looked up to meet his disappointed gaze.

“Sorry, sir. I’ll explain after this meeting, I promise.” He held his breath as Washington looked at him, then released it as he nodded.

“Let's just continue, everyone.” Washington looked pointedly at James Madison, who started speaking. Alexander turned his attention to him but was sidetracked by -

Dammit. Thomas Jefferson was here. And he was smirking at Alexander, looking superior in every sense. His immaculate hair, perfectly pressed suit (granted, it was fucking magenta, but Alexander was willing to overlook that), a pen fit beautifully between his long, slender fingers. If Alexander was standing next to him, his disheveled bun and loose tie would make him look like he didn't even shower. Which he hadn't, for two days, but that was because he was busy drafting a letter. Alexander glared back at Jefferson, which only made his smirk grow.

Alexander huffed and looked away, concentrating on Madison. He was probably making a good point, but Alexander wasn't listening at all. He was still tired.

The meeting didn't take too long, and once everyone had signed off on whatever it was Madison had been proposing (Alexander had just scrawled his messy signature on the bottom of the page), he got up and started towards the doors. He had just reached them when Jefferson caught up. He leaned his hand on the doors, making it impossible for Alexander to open them.

He glared at the doors, trying not to get angry. He succeeded for about three seconds, and then Jefferson opened his mouth.

“Well, Hamilton, look what the cat dragged in.”

Alexander snorted. “How original,” he scoffed.

Jefferson ignored the statement and continued. “I mean, I knew you were a mess, but I didn't know you were incapable of dressing yourself.” He flicked a hand down to Alexander’s tie and fixed it in one swift movement. “There, daddy’s got you.” Alexander blushed and smacked his hand away.

“Fuck off, Jefferson, you dipshit.” he looked up and saw Jefferson, why was clearly enjoying Alexander's discomfort. 

“Mind the language, Hamilton,” Jefferson said disapprovingly, leaning forward. Alexander took a step back and Jefferson leaned forward more, smiling broadly, and Alexander had a strong urge to punch the smug bastard in the face. So naturally, when Jefferson bent down (probably to taunt Alexander about his short stature), he pulled his fist back and connected it with Jefferson's face.

~~~

Ten minutes later, both men were sitting in Washington’s office. Alexander was sporting a black eye and Jefferson’s lip was bleeding. They were sitting next to each other in hard chairs, although Alexander was shuffling his chair slowly away from Jefferson.

“Seriously, Jefferson, Hamilton. Look at yourselves.” Washington glared at them both, his eyes hardening on Alexander. “Hamilton, stop that,” he said sharply. Alexander stopped moving his chair and fixed his gaze on a stain on the carpet, tuning out what Washington was saying. He only looked up when he heard Washington say, “...take a day off.”

“What? No!” Alexander said, jumping out of his chair.

Jefferson rolled his eyes. “Relax, Hamilton, it's one day. I’m sure you'll survive.” Alexander ignored him and stared at his boss.

“Please sir, it won't happen again. I promise.”

“You say that every time. Go home, both of you, and if I see you here before Thursday I will suspend you for two weeks without pay.” They both stared at Washington, and he stared back evenly. “Go home.”

Alexander turned and walked out, leaving Jefferson sitting in the office. He turned into his own and gathered up his things, pulling out his phone to text John.

 ** _To_ : Laurens:** hey can you pick me up from work

Alexander grabbed his laptop bag and zipped it angrily. His phone buzzed.

 **Laurens:** what did you do  
No nevermind I don't want to know  
Yeah I’ll be there in 10

 ** _To_ : Laurens:** thanks J

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and stalked out of his office, catching the elevator. It wasn't even noon and he was already going home. 

He hated Jefferson so goddamn much. _I’m gonna kill him_ , he thought angrily as he sat on the curb, picking at his shoe.


	2. John said you were lonely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alexander is bored and writes a lot but then Laurens gets nervous and asks Peggy to check up on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I said I would be updating every Saturday, but I have chapters already written and am starved for attention, so here is the second one. Enjoy :)

Tuesday and Wednesday sucked. Alexander was forced to stay home and work from there, which in some ways was better, because at home there weren't any distractions. Laurens left in the morning and came back around four, food in tow. He would go to sleep before Alexander, but when he woke up in the morning to see Alexander sitting in the same spot, his laptop open with ten thousand more words than there were the night before, he threw worried glances towards him. Alexander ignored them, telling himself that John was just overreacting.

Wednesday afternoon was hot and bright. Alexander was sitting on the couch with his laptop, typing away, when the apartment doorbell rang. Sighing, he got up and stretched his arms over his head, walking to the door. He was only slightly aware of his clothes (hadn't been changed since Monday night), hair (knotted up into a bun, but half had fallen out), or other various messes he had managed to make.

Alexander reached the door and turned the knob, yawning widely. The door wasn't even fully open before Alexander was hit by a bundle of colors.

“What the-” Alexander pushed the living creature off of himself and stumbled backwards.

“Alex!”

“Peggy?”

“Yeah! John said you were lonely, so I decided to come over for a little while today.” Alexander saw Peggy beaming brightly.

He sighed and gestured into his living room and the youngest Schuyler sister bounded past him, dropping a bag onto the coffee table. “You changed your hair again,” Alexander said.

“Yeah, I got bored with the last one. Do you like it?” Peggy looked questioningly at Alexander, who looked it over.

She hadn't straightened her hair, which always made her look a little wild. Peggy’s curls framed her face, which had taken a slightly orange hue due to the color. She had gotten orange highlights and the ends of her hair matched. “Yeah,” Alexander said, grinning back. “It looks great.”

Peggy smiled and gestured for Alexander to sit down. He walked over to the couch and sat down, getting comfortable. Peggy grabbed her bag and opened it, pulling out three nail polish colors. “Which one?” She held out the colors for Alexander to see. Sighing, he took the blue that she was holding.

As Alexander painted her nails slowly, Peggy talked. “...and John is just worried about you. He said you haven't been sleeping well all this week, except for the one night you go out and get shitfaced drunk. And Laf told me all about that, he called me and yelled at me in French for, like, ten minutes until he remembered that I don't speak French. You need to sleep, Alex. Also, you gotta stop forgetting to eat. Careful!” Alexander huffed in laughter as he accidentally got bright blue polish on her finger.

~~~

Peggy ended up staying at Alexander’s for three hours, telling him about her coworker who was “fucking batshit crazy, Alex. Complete basket case.” Alexander was sorry to see her go, even though Peggy could be fairly annoying.

Once she was gone, Alexander decided to clean up - for his friends’ sake. He decided to start with himself. Alexander powered his laptop down, then walked to his room to grab a towel.

After he was showered and in clean clothing, he picked up all the trash he had accumulated in the past two days. He was surprised at the amount of crumbs everywhere.

Alexander couldn't find the vacuum, so the crumbs were brushed off the couch onto the floor, where the carpet (mostly) hid the mess. Alexander ran a finger through his hair and sighed, then picked up his closed laptop and moved it to his room.

He heard a door opening and poked his head out of his bedroom, looking down the hall. He saw Laurens walk past. “Hey, John!”

Laurens backed up, looking at Alexander. “Hey, Alex, what's up?”

“Did you sic Peggy on me?” Alexander asked accusingly.

“Yeah,” Laurens said, looking down at the floor. “You gotta sleep sometime, man, and you haven't at all for the past six days except for Sunday night, and that was only three hours.”

“Well, I took a shower and cleaned up and my laptop is on my bed if you wanna grab it for the night so I can't write.” Laurens’s face lit up.

“Really? Your laptop?”

“No. But I did shut it down.” Laurens shook his head and started walking away. “Don't touch my laptop!” Alexander shouted at his friend’s retreating back.

~~~

It was around eleven when Alexander finally heard Laurens walking to his room. He heard the door close and some movement, then silence. Alexander was jealous. Why doesn't sleep come as easily for me? 

He was laying on his back in bed, which was the exact position he had been in for two hours. 

“Come on sleep, hit me.”

Still nothing.

Alexander sighed and grabbed his phone, typing “hercules mULLIGAN” into it.

**_To_ : hercules mULLIGAN:** hey you awake

**hercules mULLIGAN:** yeah I’m marathoning the walking dead, want spoilers???

**_To_ : hercules mULLIGAN:** NO WTF  
Please just bore me to sleep

**hercules mULLIGAN:** okay well Laf is over and he’s teaching me french

**_To_ : hercules mULLIGAN:** fucking finally, now I won't have to translate 

Alexander texted Hercules until around two, when he finally fell asleep, a hand curled protectively around his phone. 


	3. you texted ME

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have decided that updates will be on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Hope you're enjoying so far!

Alexander woke up on Thursday feeling refreshed and healthy. _Huh, figure that. _Turns out sleep actually helped.__

__Alexander got out of bed and stretched, walking over to his closet. He pulled out a clean suit, yawning._ _

__A quick shower and a bowl of cereal later, Alexander was dressed and focused on putting gas into his parked car. In half an hour, he’d be back at work in his office, revising drafts. He let out a happy sigh and got into his car, waving to Laurens who was watching him through the apartment window._ _

__~~~_ _

__Back at work, Alexander swiveled around on his chair, which squeaked every time he passed the door. His laptop was open on the desk, slowly turning on. Alexander swung his legs around, swinging the chair quickly four times. He heard his door open but continued to spin around, becoming dizzy._ _

__“Sir.”_ _

__Still spinning, Alexander answered. “Who is it?”_ _

__“John Jay, sir.”_ _

__“John!” Alexander put his feet down and gripped his desk, trying to not throw up. “You're back from vacation!”_ _

__“Yes, Mr. Hamilton, and it seems like you're just getting started with yours.”_ _

__Alexander grinned at his intern, then gestured. “What did you need?”_ _

__Jay handed Alexander a folder. “Mr. Washington wants you to look over these and sign it. He said you were supposed to do it yesterday, but you were sent home.” Alexander glared at the folder. “Mr. Washington said to pass it on to Jefferson when you're finished.”_ _

__“Great. Fine.” Alexander slammed the folder on his desk angrily. “If that's all, John.” He nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door._ _

__Alexander opened the folder and pulled out a bunch of papers. On the top in fancy font, there were the words “Consequences of Actions in the Workplace”. Alexander huffed in annoyance and flipped through the papers._ _

__**_To _: jefferdick:__** thanks to you the office is getting new rules and consequences  
Asshole_ _

__Alexander was surprised when he got a reply within thirty seconds._ _

__**jefferdick:** well, Hamilton, it was actually your fault_ _

__**_To _: jefferdick:__** how is it MY fault_ _

__**jefferdick:** you punched me first_ _

__**_To _: jefferdick:__** fuck off jefferson_ _

__**jefferdick:** you texted ME_ _

__Alexander groaned angrily and closed his phone, throwing it against his office wall. It clattered to the floor and Alexander was too angry to get it._ _

__He signed the stupid papers without reading them through. Then he stood up and walked out of his office, heading down the hall to Jefferson's office. The door was open as usual, so he strode in and slammed the papers down. Jefferson looked up at Alexander with one eyebrow raised._ _

__“Why must you always storm into my office like the crazed animal you are, Hamilton?”_ _

__“Why must you make it so easy for me?” Alexander countered. “Just sign the stupid rules and give it to Washington.”_ _

__Jefferson looked up at Alexander and smirked. “What if I don't?”_ _

__“I don't really care, but these were direct orders from Washington, so if you want to be suspended without pay, that's fine by me.”_ _

__“Fine, I’ll sign it.” Jefferson slid the folder towards him. “But I’m whiting out your signature.” Alexander clenched his fists and kept his arms at his sides. Instead of yelling at Jefferson, he turned sharply and left the office, half-running back to his own cramped room. He walked in and slammed his door, finally letting out a stream of curse words that he’d been holding in._ _

__The rest of the morning consisted of Alexander grumbling about Jefferson and stomping around his small office, pacing back and forth. He stopped every ten minutes to respond to important emails, but he got no actual work done because he was too keyed up to pay attention to anything._ _

__Alexander finally took a lunch break around eleven thirty, walking to the break room and grabbing his lunch from the fridge. He stalked over to his usual table where he sat with John Jay, Burr, and Angelica._ _

__“Well, look who got ungrounded,” Angelica said slyly, smiling warmly at Alexander._ _

__“Hey, Angelica.” He opened up his bag and pulled out a sandwich and a bag of chips. “Do you know if Washington is still mad at me?” He directed the question at everyone sitting at the table, but nobody answered. “Well?”_ _

__“We don't know,” Burr said, annoyed. “Why don't you just go talk to him and see how he acts?”_ _

__“Good idea,” Alexander said. “If only I was able to do that without bothering him.” Burr sighed loudly. “What?”_ _

__“He won’t be bothered,” he said quietly. “He’s practically your dad.”_ _

__Alexander looked over sharply at his friend, surprised. “What does that mean?”_ _

__“It means - no. Just go talk to him if it bothers you that much.” Alexander thought it over and decided to do that. He thanked his friends and got up, throwing away his trash._ _

__As he walked away, he distinctly heard John Jay say, “Washingdad. Get it?” and Angelica and Burr sighing loudly._ _

__~~~_ _

__Alexander stopped by at the grocery store before heading home, because according to Laurens, they were “all out of necessities” which were apparently important to everyday life._ _

__He got a shopping cart and wheeled around the store. He loaded toothpaste, paper towels, and toilet paper into the cart, and then got bread, milk, sugar, flour, and eggs. He also got fourteen balloons just for the hell of it. They were all the same, purple with bright green cursive that said _Just Married_. _ _

__After loading everything into the trunk of his car (other than the balloons; they just floated in the backseat and obstructed Alexander’s view of the road), he set off towards home where Laurens was waiting._ _

__Two hours later, both men were sitting on the couch, trying to decide on movie choices and eating Chinese takeout._ _

__“I told you, John, if you give them too many options they'll take forever to decide.”_ _

__“There's too many options for me to decide what their options are going to be!”_ _

__“What?”_ _

__“Exactly!”_ _

__Shaking his head, Alexander picked three movies. Looking to his friend, he held up The Princess Bride. Laurens groaned loudly. “You always choose that one!”_ _

__“Yeah, cause it's good,” Alexander said stubbornly. “I'm adding it to the pile.”_ _

__They were getting ready for Friday, which was the day all of their friends came over to watch movies, play long, boring games of Monopoly, have a giant pillow fight, and generally act like a bunch of children. But there were things to be done before hand, like choosing ten movies out of Alexander's stockpile of about two hundred. This was almost always an impossible task._ _

__Around midnight, Laurens shook his head and stood up. “I give up, man. Let's just let Peggy and Hercules pick the movie tomorrow night.”_ _

__Alexander sighed in agreement and stood up too, looking at the floor, which was covered with DVD cases._ _

__“I’ll just leave - that - there then,” he said, gesturing towards the mess. Laurens sighed but allowed him to walk out of the living room and through the kitchen._ _

__Sleep came quickly for Alexander._ _


	4. "PANCAKES, A**HOLES!"

Alexander drove home from work on Friday feeling excited. After writing non stop for five hours after his lunch break, he was ready to go home and see all of his friends.

He parked and got out of his car, walking to the apartment door. Once inside, he saw Laurens and Hercules Mulligan already there.

“Hey, Alex!” Hercules shouted, jumping up from the couch and enveloping Alexander's small, compact form with his arms.

Alexander gasped and sucked in air once his friend finally relinquished his death grip. “Hi, Herc. I wasn't expecting you here so early.”

“Yeah, the boss let me off early today because I said I had a ‘long drive’.” He waggled his eyebrows playfully and gestured for Alexander to sit down on the couch. “Me and John were just setting up Twister.”

Alexander looked down at the ground and saw the giant mat set up. How did I miss that? he thought.

Alexander walked around the game and grabbed Laurens’s phone, dialing Dominoes. He ended up ordering four pizzas: two plain, one Hawaiian for Angelica and Theodosia (because they were weirdos), and one with everything for Peggy and Hercules.

An hour later, everyone had arrived with sleepover equipment and the pizza. They all found seats and Hercules offered to spin and call out colors and body parts for the people playing Twister, which happened to be Alexander, Peggy, Angelica, Lafayette, and Theodosia. Eliza, Laurens, and Burr decided to just stick with spectating the game.

“Left foot blue!” Hercules shouted out, and Alexander slammed his foot down, standing in between Lafayette and Theo. “Right foot red!” _This isn't so bad_ , Alexander thought. “Right hand yellow!”

Halfway through the game, Peggy had collapsed due to the fact that Angelica was leaning heavily on her. She joined Lafayette and Theo on the sidelines to cheer on Angelica and Alexander.

Angelica ended up winning - no surprises there.

After the game, they all smushed up together to watch a movie. Laurens and Alexander ended up letting Peggy pick, so ten minutes later, the beginning credits for Mulan were rolling. Alexander, Eliza, Theodosia, and Hercules were practically sitting on each other’s laps on the couch. Burr, Lafayette, Peggy, Angelica, and Laurens were sprawled out on the floor, blankets draped over their bodies.

“I love this movie,” Eliza said, sighing happily.

“You love all Disney movies,” Angelica pointed out to her younger sister.

“Yeah, but this movie is one of the best ones.” Burr rolled his eyes and faced back towards the screen, pulling the blanket up higher around his shoulders and leaning in slightly towards Laurens.

They ended up watching three movies after Mulan and nobody fell asleep until after two. Alexander moved to the bed in his room and let Lafayette sleep on the floor. Laurens and Hercules crashed in Laurens’s room. Angelica was sprawled out on the couch and everyone else found spots on the floor in the living room to sleep.

Alexander tossed and turned around on his bed for a couple minutes, until he heard Lafayette grumble, “Stop moving around, mon ami.”

“Sorry, Laf.”

~~~

Alexander woke up early, around seven, and quietly opened the door to his room so as not to wake his sleeping friend. In the living room, Peggy and Theodosia were awake, watching Hercules make pancakes for everybody.

“Morning Peggy, Theo,” Alexander said, yawning.

“Morning, Alex,” Theodosia said, beaming at him.

Alexander looked at her. “Why are you so happy?”

“I love mornings,” she said brightly. Peggy groaned and yawned, laying her head back down on the floor.

Once everyone was awake (and fully fed, thanks to Hercules, who had shouted “PANCAKES, ASSHOLES!” so that everyone woke up), they started getting dressed and ready at different times. Peggy still looked out of it so she laid on the ground and everyone else had to step over her. Angelica, Eliza, and Burr all got dressed first, and the sisters (minus Peggy) left while Burr waited for Theodosia. 

Finally around ten, Alexander and Laurens waved goodbye to their guests and turned around to examine the terrain.

It wasn't as bad as last time. This time around, there was almost no popcorn on the floor and there wasn't as much trash lying around - which Alexander suspected was Theodosia’s doing. He silently thanked her as he vacuumed the popcorn kernels on the floor (Laurens had found the lost machine in the closet).

And then it was one-thirty and Alexander was waving goodbye to Laurens, who had work until six pm.

Alexander walked around his apartment, bored, and then stopped in front of the mirror in the bathroom. “Looks like it's just you and me,” he said, pointing his finger at his reflection. He stared at his reflection, which slowly grew red, as he facepalmed. “I can't believe I just said that.”

To pass the time, Alexander grabbed his phone and wallet and walked to the Subway across the street. He walked with his food across town to the group home.

The home was for boys and girls who couldn't be fostered. There were kids of all ages, and Alexander visited every once in awhile to check in on things, having lived there himself until he was eighteen.

He reached the house and walked up the porch to the door, where he knocked lightly four times. Then he waited, listening for the telltale sign of kids. Someone yelled, and Alexander heard a thump and a loud crash. There was silence, and the door opened widely, revealing three kids grinning at him.

“I toldja it was Alex!” a little brown-haired boy yelled, ducking out from the doorway to give Alexander a hug.

“Hey, Philip,” Alexander said, hugging the kid. “I heard you had a birthday a couple weeks ago.”

Philip nodded and ushered him inside. “Yep, I’m nine now!”

Alexander walked through the main entrance to the living room, where he sat down on the couch and greeted the other kids. They were all fairly young; Alexander hadn't seen anyone over the age of fourteen in three years.

A man walked into the living room, greeting Alexander. He waved back and the man walked into the kitchen, yelling over his shoulder. “Hey, Alex. There's two new kids you gotta meet.”

Alexander looked around and spotted a young girl and a boy. “Okay, Lin, I’ll say hi.” He waved at the two and noticed that the boy was digging his fingernails into the girl's arm, making her wince slightly. Alexander walked over.

“Hey, I’m Alex,” he said, extending a hand. “I come visit here once every couple weeks.”

The girl opened her mouth but closed it when the boy clenched her arm harder. She looked down at her feet and Alex looked at her as the boy answered.

“I’m James Reynolds. This is Maria.”

“How old are you guys?” he asked James.

“I’m fifteen. Maria’s twelve.”

“Well, nice to meet you two,” Alexander said, smiling at Maria. She didn't answer, still looking at the ground, so Alexander walked away to help Lin make lunch for everyone.

Lin was the man who had been running the group home since even Alexander went there. He was kind and funny and all the kids loved him. Alexander remembered how Lin used to reenact movie scenes for him and the rest of the kids before they all went to bed.

Alex stayed for two hours and then walked home, thinking about Maria and James, and how the older boy seemed to have a hold on Maria the entire time Alexander was at the home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave comments and kudos, I love feedback.


	5. "Who invited you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHH I AM SO SORRY GUYS
> 
> School started and so did tennis, which left me with about an hour a day for homework, dinner, and a shower. I also had some major writers block. Here, take this short chapter as an apology.

Alexander hated parties, especially for work. They just consisted of people trying to kiss ass to Washington as Alexander pushed his way through people. It was never fun.

Unfortunately, there was the annual work party that they had every year. It consisted of raffles, food, and talking with coworkers. This was the one party Alexander could tolerate, simply because everyone was there, including his friends.

He scanned the room, looking for Burr or Angelica. Not seeing them, he made his way over to Washington, who smiled at him but didn't engage in conversation.

So much for that.

He turned and walked over to the food tables, grabbing a slice of pizza and a soda. Spotting Burr (finally) at the raffle tables, he took the food over and joined him.

“What's the raffle this year, Burr?” he asked.

“It's actually pretty cool this year,” he said. “There's four winners, and each can bring two other people. They don't even have to be from work.”

“That's a lot of people.”

Burr nodded in agreement. “It's fully paid, too. They provide everything.”

Alexander waited, but Burr didn't continue. “Aaron?” he said. “You only half answered my question.”

Burr sighed and turned to Alexander. “It's a nine day cruise through the Pacific ocean, Alexander. I just assumed you read the sign that's sitting right in front of your face.” Alexander didn't say anything, for once, instead choosing to watch Burr drop in two raffle tickets. “Are you entering?”

Alexander scoffed. “Of course, I need to buy some tickets though.” With that, he turned and left Burr, pulling out ten dollars to buy the small tickets.

When he got back to the basket, Burr had been replaced by Angelica. He entered them all, just dumping them into the basket. Angelica watched him, raising an eyebrow. “Nice technique.”

Alexander smiled and dropped a few more in. “Thanks,” he said, smiling. He pulled out two more tickets and positioned his hand over the basket when a snide voice interrupted him.

“I wasn't aware there was much of a technique to what he’s doing.” Alexander dropped his remaining tickets in and turned, looking into the cool face of Thomas Jefferson.

“Who invited you?” he said bluntly.

“Careful, Hamilton, or people will think you don't welcome me here.”

“That's exactly what I'm aiming for.” Jefferson rolled his eyes and was hit on the shoulder by a passing coworker. Alexander noticed all of the people - the place was really starting to fill up.

Jefferson was bumped again, and he took a step forwards, towards Alexander. “Go away, Jefferson,” he said, stepping to the side, next to Angelica. To his surprise, he didn't argue, just turned around and stepped slowly into the crowd of people behind him. Alexander watched him go. “Dumbass,” he muttered under his breath, turning to Angelica. She was still watching him with one raised eyebrow. “What?” She didn't respond, just sighed and turned. 

“Come on,” Alexander said, pulling lightly on her arm. “Let's go find Burr.”

~~~

Later that evening, everyone stood in a group quietly, waiting for Washington to announce the winners of the raffle. Alexander pushed his way to the front so he could see better - he could hear Burr laughing at him but chose to ignore it.

“Okay, everyone. I’m going to announce the four lucky winners of the raffle now, so quiet down.” Washington waited patiently until everyone was quiet before speaking again. “The first winner is Charles Lee.”

Alexander groaned and covered his eyes with a hand. Washington saw and raised an eyebrow at him before continuing. “The next winner is Angelica Schuyler.” Alexander turned, surprised, trying to find Angelica in the crowd. Finally, he saw her smiling next to Burr. “...Alexander Hamilton,” Washington continued. Now it was Angelica’s turn to smile widely. “The fourth person is Thomas Jefferson,” Washington said, glaring at the crowd of people who were cheering for their friends.

Alexander’s mouth dropped open, horrified. This couldn't be happening. Thomas Jefferson. Just his luck, really. The only time he wins the raffle is the one time Jefferson does too.

~~~

Alexander got home that night, still excited about the trip. Just because Jefferson was there didn't mean he couldn't still have fun. It was a big boat; surely he wouldn't have to see him the entire time. Alexander pulled out his phone and opened the group chat.

 ** _To_ : the four of us:** hey guys, I won the raffle and need to figure out which two of you I’m taking

 **laurens:** take me obviously, we’re besties 

**hercules mULLIGAN:** no, take me because I made pancakes for you 

**lafbaguette:** it's simple, take John and Herc. Jefferson invited me.

 **laurens:** jefferson?????  
What the fuck 

**hercules mULLIGAN:** HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Alexander sighed and rolled his eyes.

 ** _To_ : the four of us:** yeah Jefferson won too, i might throw him overboard halfway through the cruise

 **lafbaguette:** really Alex 

He turned off his phone and retrieved his laptop. If he was going to have to deal with this, he should at least be writing something. At least until Laurens got home from work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of part one. I think I'm gonna have three parts, but I'm not sure. Part two is gonna be completely different though.


	6. "...swallow, you heathen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everyone, get ready for Part Two! This part is different, darker, and harder for me to write, because I know NOTHING about boats. I apologize in advance for getting things screwed up.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Two weeks later, Alexander was standing on a dock with a large cluster of people. They all had various suitcase sizes and colors (and some had more than others; Peggy brought _five_ ).

Angelica wanted to take Eliza and Peggy, but it turned out Eliza got seasick easily, so Angelica brought Burr. He was excited, although he was trying to hide it - also, Alexander knew he was going to miss Theodosia.

Alexander brought Hercules and Laurens, who were currently chasing Peggy along the dock, trying to steal her suitcases. Lafayette was standing to the left of Jefferson, watching the two with an airy smile. Jefferson, on the other hand, was scowling heavily and turned to James Madison, who was on his other side.

Behind Alexander was Charles Lee and his guests. James Reynolds, who Alexander knew from work, was glaring at the back of Alexander's head - he could practically feel the heat. Currently, though, he was ignoring him. Lee also invited another guy that Alexander didn't know. He was standing next to his friend like he owned the place, though.

Suddenly Angelica shouted. “I think it's time to get on the boat, guys!” Alexander looked over and saw Peggy running up the boat ramp. She now had only one suitcase. Alexander looked around and stifled a laugh as he saw Hercules lugging the other four - plus his one - onto the ship. Laurens followed, and Lafayette strode after. Alexander laughed and bounded past his friends onto the boat.

~~~

Two hours later, the brief tour of the ship concluded and all twelve adults were standing in a hallway with six doors, three on one side and three on the other. They had been left by the staff to figure out sleeping arrangements.

“Well,” said Peggy brightly. “I'm not sleeping with any of you stinky boys-” Madison rolled his eyes. “-so me and Angelica will take room 300.” Peggy grabbed her older sister’s arm and pulled them to stand in front of the door.

Laurens looked at Alexander, but Lafayette grabbed his arm before he could say anything. “You two live in the same apartment. Take a break, for goodness sake.” He waited for both men to nod their approval before walking over to room 303.

Alexander nodded to Hercules before the two walked over to room 301. Jefferson and Madison immediately claimed room 302. That left Charles Lee and James Reynolds to take room 304, and Burr and the other man with 305. Burr, for his part, did not look too happy.

There was a silence as everyone stood quietly outside their door. Lafayette coughed, and Jefferson saved everyone by saying, “Well, that's that, then.” He turned and opened the door, pulling Madison in with him. The door closed and everyone else opened theirs.

Alexander opened the door and strode inside, Hercules following. He stopped almost directly inside the door and his friend ran into him, causing Alexander to jolt forwards.

“Holy shit,” Hercules said and Alexander nodded in agreement.

Their “room” was more like a mini apartment. There were two queen beds, separated by shelves in the middle. Next to each bed were more shelves, most likely for clothes. There was a door to the left of the room, and Alexander opened it to see the bathroom - which was huge. There was a shower and a separate bathtub that looked like it had jets. There was a lot of room to move around. On the far end of the room was a low wall, separating it in half. On the left side was the kitchen. There was a stove, a fridge, and a lot of counters and shelves. Again with the shelves. The left had a TV and a huge wraparound couch.

“Dude,” Hercules said again as he claimed the bed closest to the door. “This is gonna be awesome.” Alexander looked at him and grinned, jumping onto his own bed.

~~~

After everyone unpacked, they all went to the first floor below the deck to find some food. There was a restaurant that served steak and looked pretty good, so Alexander, Laurens, Lafayette, Burr, and Peggy joined them. Everyone else split off and went to another one two doors down.

“So, Peggy” Alexander said after they were all seated and had taken their orders. “What do you think of all this?” The girl grinned at him from across the booth.

“Well, Alex, it's pretty awesome.”

“Care to elaborate?” 

“Did you know that everything is bolted down?” Laurens said.

“Hey, we weren't talking to you!” Peggy cried, smacking him with her menu.

“It's true though!” He nodded earnestly. “Even the beds and stove.”

“It's so nothing rolls around or falls over if there's waves,” Burr said. “That's all.”

“Oh.”

There was a silence, and then, “So, Burr, how’s your new roommate?” He groaned and buried his head in his hands.

Hercules laughed and Alexander said, “That bad?”

“The guy calls himself ‘King George’, Alexander. King. Who the hell does that?” Burr answered. “And he expects me to call him that too!” Lafayette sighed sympathetically.

Just then, their food arrived, causing a distraction - Burr looked like he was either going to explode or break down in tears, and Alexander didn't want to see either of those things. Even if the explosion would be cool to see.

For the next five minutes, the only sounds were forks and knives hitting plates and people picking up and putting down glasses.

“So,” Laurens said around a mouthful of steak, “Whadyou tin ofduh woosize?”

Hercules smacked him across the back of the head and said “Chew and swallow, you heathen.”

“I said, what do you think of the room size?” Everyone groaned in appreciation.

“They're amazing!” Peggy said. “There's so much room!”

“There's a television! On a giant ship!”

“Have you laid on the beds? They are the best thing I have ever slept on.”

“Technically, you haven't slept on it yet.”

“Shut up, Alex, a man can dream.”

~~~

Alexander admitted, however grudgingly, that the beds really were comfortable. No, that was an understatement. It was like lying on a cloud, or a piece of heaven itself. The only bad part was the waves.

The bed stayed, but the people didn't. Next door, Alexander heard a thump followed by a stream of curses and laughter, so he assumed someone fell off the bed.

Another wave came and the ship rocked. Alexander gripped the sheets and held on, trying not to get seasick.

At least the food was good, he thought.


	7. future blackmailing opportunities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, I'm not feeling this chapter but I felt like I needed to be productive. Here's to hoping this chapter doesn't suck ass too much.

Alexander woke up early the second day with no clue where he was. He was laying in a corner on the floor, a bed about six feet away. The floor tilted, and Alexander rolled over to his bed.

_Oh, yeah_ , he thought. _The boat_.

He shakily stood up and walked over to the dresser and pulled his phone out - thank God he decided to put it there. He turned it on and checked the time.

“You have got to be kidding me,” he said, sighing. The phone light shined brightly on his face, showing the numbers 2:47. Alexander decided it wasn't worth trying to fall back asleep, so he grabbed a pair of sneakers and his wallet and ventured up to the ship deck.

It was cooler up here, the open air and light breeze doing wonders for Alexander's sudden nausea. He walked over to a chair (again, bolted into the deck) and leaned back, staring up at the stars. Out on the ocean, you could see everything. There were so many stars.

~~~

When Alexander woke up, he was surrounded by his friends. They were all huddled around his chair, leaning over him.

“What are you guys doing?” he cried, sitting up. Laurens burst out laughing. “What?” He looked over at Angelica, who looked guilty. “What, Schuyler?”

She looked him in the eyes and then away again. “I think my sister may have found you in the middle of the night, Alex.”

“What? Why?”

She didn't answer, and Hercules started laughing. Lafayette had his head down in Alexander’s lap, tears streaming from his eyes. “Angelica!”

She thrust a mirror at him. “Look!” she cried, biting her lower lip.

He looked.

Some time between 2:47 and now, Peggy had managed to wake up and find Alexander. And she brought her makeup with her during the midnight stroll.

Alexander’s face was covered. There was heavy golden eyeshadow, with what looked like glitter. There was mascara that made his eyelashes frame his already large brown eyes in a girly manner. There was even winged eyeliner. He stared in silence.

“She contoured my face!” he finally cried, horrified. Laurens fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

“Well, Alexander, at least she did a good job,” Angelica supplied. Alexander glared at her and blinked in surprise when a flash went off in his face, blinding him.

“Sorry, Alexander, I might need this for future blackmailing opportunities.”

“No! Burr!”

Alexander grabbed for the cell phone, but Burr was holding it above his head - Alexander wasn't going to jump to grab it. “Fine!” he shouted. “Fine! I'm going to wash this crap off.” And with that, he turned as quickly as he could and walked to the nearest bathroom, Laurens’ laughter following him hauntingly.

He jumped down the staircase leading to the first floor below the deck. He walked down the hallway and decided to turn left - there was a bathroom eight around the corner.

Unfortunately, so was Jefferson.

Alexander rounded the corner and his face hit someone's chest (finely toned, too). He bounced back and stared up in horror at Jefferson, who was staring at Alexander with wide eyes.

Alexander felt himself growing red as the two maintained eye contact for a few seconds. _This has to be a nightmare_ , he thought.

Jefferson's eyes stayed wide as they trailed over Alexander's face, taking in the makeup. Then, he turned around, put his hands on his knees, and burst out laughing. Alexander snarled and ran around him, running into the bathroom and slamming the door behind him.

He walked over to the mirror and looked at himself. His face was bright red and it brought out the makeup even more. Alexander groaned and backed up against a wall, sliding down and putting his head between his knees.

“Just what I needed,” he grumbled to himself. “Now Jefferson really _has_ seen everything.”

~~~

It took one and a half hours to get the makeup off. Alexander was going to kill Peggy.

~~~

Later that night, Alexander and Hercules were talking about ways to get revenge on people when they heard arguing at the end of the hallway. There were muffled shouts and some pounding noises, which Alexander assumed was someone stomping their feet. He looked at Hercules, who shrugged and got off his bed and walked towards the door.

Once in the hallway, Lafayette and Laurens opened their door and stepped outside too. “I think it's coming from Aaron's room,” Lafayette said.

Alexander walked over and knocked on the door. There was no answer, just muffled shouts. He knocked again, more forcefully this time. The door flew open and Alexander stepped backwards, narrowly avoiding a flying stick of deodorant.

“-must think I’m crazy! It's never gonna happen, buddy!”

“You're going to do what I tell you, Burr!”

“Fuck off!” Alexander ducked behind the door right before a lamp was chucked at his head. Hercules caught it and barged inside the room.

“Hey, knock it off!” he shouted, separating the two men. The man - George, Alexander remembered - was still trying to punch Burr. Jefferson strode inside and pinned his arms down so Hercules wouldn't get hit.

“What's going on?” Hercules shouted.

“He’s trying to force me to listen to him!” shouted Burr, a murderous look on his face. “But what I'm really gonna do is strangle him!” He tried to yank his arms out of Hercules’ hold, to no avail.

“Alright, look,” Jefferson said. “Obviously we’re gonna have to separate you if any of us want a little peace and quiet. Any volunteers?” Nobody stepped forwards.

“Fine,” Alexander said. “Me and Burr can switch rooms.” Burr sagged against Hercules, relief evident on his face. Alexander turned around and stormed out of the room, going to gather his stuff.

_This trip has to get better_ , he thought to himself as he angrily stuffed a shirt into his bag. _No way am I suffering through seven more days of this_.


	8. "Alexander, it's no use."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the long wait. School is kicking my butt. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> PS. Here's where it gets a little dark. It's no longer Office AU!!

Alexander grabbed his suitcase and stood up, stomping out of his room with Hercules watching, amused. Burr was waiting outside, leaning on the door.

“Thanks, Alexander.”

“Shut the fuck up, Burr.”

He didn't respond, which made Alexander angrier. _Why can't he just argue with me,_ thought Alexander. _I just really need to yell at somebody._

He walked past everyone, who were still just standing in the hallway. Peggy and Angelica had joined the crowd, and Peggy was whispering to Lafayette, standing on tiptoes. Alexander grinned at her, and Peggy glared back.

“Damn height differences,” she said, clearly annoyed. Lafayette grinned and stood up taller.

Alexander walked past him, walking over to Burr's former room. He stood outside the door, looking in on George, who was sitting sullenly on the edge of his bed. Alexander walked in and dropped his suitcase next to the other one. It fell with a loud thud, and George looked up.

“Hi,” Alexander said tentatively.

“I do hope that you’ll behave a little better than the last man in here,” replied the other man. Alexander’s jaw dropped, and he turned around to look outside the room. Jefferson and Angelica were watching him. Jefferson looked appalled, while Angelica looked on sympathetically. He grounded himself and turned around slowly.

“I don't even know you, buddy. So let's just make this really simple and not talk to each other. At all.” George didn't respond. “Hey, dickface, did you hear me?”

“Call me King George.”

Alexander stammered out a response, too angry to speak in full sentences. “What the - no way - you little - ‘call me King’ - fuck off!” And with that, he signed to face his bed and flopped on top, pulling some covers up over his entire body so he couldn't see Jefferson laughing at him in the hallway.

~~~

Alexander woke up to the sounds of screams and loud thuds and crashes.

“Not again,” he mumbled, squeezing his eyes tighter.

There was a loud splintering noise, followed by loud footsteps, and then Alexander’s and George’s doors flew open, slamming against the wall.

“Alexander! Wake up!” Laurens. Alexander was going to kill him. “Wake! Up!” Then there were warm hands, shaking him. He refused to wake up, though.

There were more sounds of somebody entering the room, and then Alexander was being lifted off the bed. “Get George!” shouted a voice, thick with an accent that Alexander couldn't quite place. Then he was dropped back onto the bed and he jolted awake.

“Finally!” Shouted Laurens. “Come on!” He jumped up and ran out of the room, George following behind. Alexander jumped out of bed and grabbed his shoes, tying them, still sluggish from sleep.

“Let's go, Hamilton!” shouted the other voice. Alexander looked behind him to see Jefferson grabbing Alexander's suitcase. He was about to respond when the ship rocked wildly and both Alexander and Jefferson were flung to the side of the room. Jefferson gave up with the suitcase, instead grabbing Alexander's arm. “The ship is sinking!” he shouted, pulling Alexander up and running out of the room.

“What?” Alexander shouted. “How?”

“I don't know, dumbass. Just - let's just go!” They were running down the hallway, where everyone else was waiting.

“Come on!” shouted Hercules, leading the way up to the deck. Laurens followed, and then Madison pushed Peggy and Angelica up the stairs. Everyone started running, trying to stay upright as the ship rocked violently.

Finally, they reached the deck, where it was pouring. And then Alexander noticed.

“Where's Lee and Reynolds?” he shouted. Everyone looked around, trying to find them. “Damn it,” he muttered, and then shot back down the stairs.

“Alex! Wait!” shouted Lafayette, but he ignored him. Halfway down the stairs, though, he stopped. There was water leaking into the floor that their rooms were on. He jumped down the remaining stairs and sloshed over to their door, banging on it.

“Alexander, it's no use,” shouted Burr from up the stairs. “They went down to the kitchens about an hour ago. It's completely flooded down there.” Alexander sagged against the door, and then stood up.

“Fine!” he yelled. _I can't believe I'm leaving them for dead,_ he thought. Then he turned around and ran back upstairs, where Peggy grabbed his hand.

“Put this on!” she shouted over the rain and wind, and held out a life jacket.

He did, and addressed the next question to Madison. “Where is everyone?” he asked.

“I don't know. I haven't seen anybody here except us. Not even people working in the restaurants.” Alexander opened his mouth to ask another question, but a wave rocked the boat again and they all slid to the side.

Angelica got up shakily and reached the lifeboats. “Come on, guys,” she said. “Each one can hold six people.” She grabbed her younger sister’s arm and they stepped in, sitting carefully. Peggy looked tearfully at Lafayette, who joined them.

“Come on, guys,” he said. Laurens grabbed Hercule's arm and walked over, getting in. Angelica looked at Burr, who tried to stand and then walked over to the lifeboat, collapsing inside.

“Okay, the rest of you get on a second boat,” Angelica said. Alexander got on, followed by Jefferson, Madison, and George. And then he handed Jefferson a rope that was inside the boat.

“What is this for?”

“Tie it to the other boat so we don't get separated!” Alexander yelled. Jefferson nodded and threw one end of the rope to Burr, who got to work.

And then they were lowering themselves into the dark water, which was spraying up over the sides of the boat. In the water, Alexander couldn't see the other boat. It was too dark.

“Okay, everyone.” Hercules said. “Madison and I grabbed as much food as we could before we came up here, so there is some. But try not to eat it all. Also, make sure the rope knot doesn't come undone.”

And then they were floating away from the ship, which was starting to turn itself. _Like the Titanic,_ Alexander thought sadly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave a comment or kudos (I really love v a l i d a t i o n)!


	9. all going to be okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> decided to give you guys two chapters today, since somehow I really want to write.

Eventually, the waves died down and the two lifeboats stopped being thrown everywhere. It was still dark though, and the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Alexander tried to relax and clutched the side of the boat he was on. He could barely make out the outline of Jefferson and Madison, who were sitting next to each other, silent. Behind him, George moved his leg, causing the boat to rock a little, but not enough for anything to happen. The other boat was silent too. Alexander moved his hand around until he found the rope, and he tightened his hand around it and didn't move.

After about two hours, the rain stopped and the clouds disappeared. He leaned his head back and looked up, where he could see the stars shining brightly. But even they didn't stay still, and he let his head drop so he was looking at his lap instead.

Another hour layer, the sun started to rise. Alexander watched the sky turn pink, and then bright red. Soon, he could make out everyone in the lifeboats. Angelica was sitting in the back, Peggy leaning up against her and holding Lafayette's hand. Laurens and Burr were sitting in the front, not speaking. Burr was next to Lafayette, his eyes closed.

“Can we eat now?” asked Alexander. He saw Hercules nod and pull a trash bag from under his feet. Madison did the same, and Alexander turned to face him.

He pulled out one bottle of water and two cans of green beans. “We’ll have to share,” he said. “Who knows how long we’ll be floating in the ocean.” Alexander nooded and took a can, opening it and scooping out half with his fingers. It was cold and pretty disgusting, but it was still food. Then he passed the rest to George, who looked at the can with disgust.

“I am not eating that.”

“Then I guess you're gonna starve to death,” Jefferson shot back, indifferent. He passed the water bottle to Alexander, who took it and had a few sips before throwing it at Jefferson's chest.

“There has to be something fit for me in that bag, Madison,” said George.

Madison rummaged around in the bag mockingly. “Nope, nothing fit for you, your _highness_.”

“Aw, come on, Madison. I'm pretty sure you're not looking hard enough.” Jefferson glared at Alexander, reaching his leg out to kick him. “There's gotta be a can of shit in there somewhere,” he finished, dodging the kick.

Jefferson froze and burst out laughing, bending over. Madison smiled widely. On the other boat, Alexander could hear Laurens and Burr laughing appreciatively. 

But George didn't find it very amusing, and the next thing Alexander knew, he was being shoved headfirst into the icy water. It was dark and cold and he couldn't tell which way was up. He struggled to find his way up, but he was running out of air and his arms and legs were siezing up. His lungs started to burn and his eyes stung. And then someone was wrapping their arms under his armpits, pulling him up. He broke the surface and gasped for air, coughing and shivering violently. Jefferson and Madison helped pull him back onto the boat, where he laid on top of the two men, desperately trying to breathe and get warm again. There was silence for what seemed like a lifetime, the only noise being Alexander's shaky gasps and coughs.

“Are you okay?” he heard Peggy ask. Alexander nodded his head and heard Hercules sigh in relief.

“Thank God,” Burr said quietly.

Alexander finally rolled off of Jefferson and Madison, sitting up on his seat. And then, without warning, he turned and punched George in the nose. It started to bleed and he looked terrified.

“What have you done?” cried George.

“I could've died, asshat!” shouted Alexander. “Just be lucky I didn't cut off your goddamn balls!”

“Hey, settle down!” yelled Angelica. “We still have a long ways to go, so just be quiet. Please.”

~~~

The sun continued to rise in the sky, until it was directly above the two boats. Alexander was sweating, and kept dipping his hands in the water to try and cool down.

“Just don't drink it,” Lafayette warned.

“I'm not an idiot,” Alexander replied, and then had to listen as Jefferson said that he wasn't so sure. It took everything in him not to punch Jefferson, too.

They drank more water because the heat was so intense, and then drank more because, really, they couldn't be stranded out here for that long. Soon they only had two bottles left for each boat.

“Someone should come over here,” Alexander said later. “So supplies are more evenly distributed.”

“Using big words, I see,” Jefferson said quietly.

“Yeah, unlike you,” Alexander retorted.

“I’ll come over,” said Laurens, ending whatever argument that was going to break out. Alexander nodded and pulled on his side of the rope so the other boat floated towards theirs. Laurens got out and Alexander fist bumped Hercules, smiling at Peggy. Laurens sat down and smiled at Madison, who just closed his eyes in return.

~~~

The next day brought the same weather. It was really cold in the morning, but heated up until it felt like Alexander's skin was going to melt off. Jefferson took off his shirt and held it over his head, trying to get cool. Madison and Hercules passed out the water, and today they managed to only drink half a bottle between the five of them. Crackers were divided up between them too, although they were gone extremely fast.

~~~

Two days layer, they ran out of food.

~~~

The next day, they ran out of water.

~~~

It was so hot. Alexander was leaning as far away as possible from Laurens so his body heat wouldn't make it hotter. Peggy had stopped leaning up against Angelica, and took the last sip of water. She put the empty bottle back in the trash bag and tried to fall asleep.

Alexander dipped his hand into the ocean again and dripped it over his head, sighing in relief.

Madison slept the whole day and Jefferson looked worried.

“He's going to be fine,” Laurens said.

“You don't know James,” Jefferson shot back, tense. “He's always getting sick.”

“Calm down, Jefferson. He's probably just tired and hot, like the rest of us,” Alexander said tiredly.

“Yeah, I mean, Peggy's asleep and she never does that,” Hercules said. Angelica nodded in agreement.

Later that night, everyone fell asleep before Alexander. _I wish I had my phone or laptop,_ he thought sadly. _I need to write something._

He fell asleep eventually, leaning up against Laurens.

He woke up before anyone else. Madison was awake, throwing up over the side of the boat.

“Are you okay?” Alexander asked.

Madison shook his head and leaned back into the boat, wiping his mouth with his hand. “I'm really hot,” he whispered. “Have been for three days, even when we had food and water.”

Alexander said nothing, instead looking up at the sky. “We’re all going to be okay, Madison.”

“Go back to sleep, Hamilton,” he said tiredly. And he did.

When he woke up again, he could hear Peggy sniffling. He took his cheek off of Laurens’s shoulder and looked over.

“You alright, Pegs?” he asked. She said nothing, turning her head into Angelica. Alexander looked around st the other boat, and then Jefferson spoke.

“James is dead, Hamilton.”


	10. sopping wet and freezing

Alexander sat in stunned silence, turning his eyes towards Madison. Someone (probably Jefferson) had moved his body a little so that it was in a more horizontal position, lying down. Alexander looked at Jefferson, who was still as a rock, looking at his lap.

He looked back at Madison. He didn't look dead yet. Alexander had seen a lot of bodies when he was younger. His entire town was washed away, but half of the bodies were never found. The other half, like his mother, were unrecognizable because of all the water. And then, after that, he found his cousin sitting against a wall, blood spattered out behind him, turning the white wall red.

Madison didn't look like that. He was just pale and unmoving.

“I'm sorry,” Alexander said quietly to Jefferson. The other man didn't respond.

The sun started to come out after a while, bringing the heat everyone knew so well. Everyone remained silent.

On the other boat, Hercules was staring into the water, either lost in thought or not thinking at all. Lafayette kept looking at different things, like the side of his boat or a cloud. Peggy hadn't moved from Angelica's side. And Angelica was staring, just like Hercules, while Burr just looked tired.

Laurens kept moving, like he couldn't sit still. He would twitch his leg, and then move his arm and look in a different direction. Alexander wanted to say something, but his voice wouldn't work, so he just laid a hand on his friend's thigh every time he moved his leg.

And then the sun was fully in the sky, which made sweat roll down Alexander's body and his mouth parched and dry.

He looked down at the water and dipped his hand in, then held it out in front of his face.

“Don't do it, mon ami.”

Alexander quickly dropped his hand and wiped the water off on his pants. “I wasn't going to.”

“Yeah, right,” Burr spoke up.

“I wasn't!”

“Could you all just shut up?”

Alexander twisted around in his seat so that he was facing George. “We could, but why would we want to?”

“Because I told you,” the other man said flatly. “You guys must listen to me.”

Alexander finally snapped, punching him again. George flew backwards, right off the boat. Alexander shouted and stood up, causing violent rocking in the boat. He walked over to the end and looked in the water, but there was no sign of George.

Alexander cursed. “I can't see him,” he shouted. He saw Hercules stand up slowly in the corner of his eye. “I'm going after him!”

“No, Alex!” Laurens shouted.

“I have to, John!” He took off his shirt and threw it behind him, plunging into the water.

It was really dark and Alexander soon found that he couldn't see anything. So he just swam around, seeing if he could feel anything. Alexander swam farther down, desperately trying to find him. And then he spotted a dark mass, finally. He swam towards George and grabbed his torso, pushing upwards with his feet. His lungs were burning and he needed to desperately breathe. The water above him kept getting lighter until his head finally broke the surface and he heard about ten different audible sighs. Hands grabbed his shoulders and back and helped pull him and George up into the boat.

The latter was coughing and gasping for breath, shaking furiously.

“Punch me again and I will kill you.”

Alexander scoffed. “Tell me what to do again and I'll start to regret not letting you drown.” The other man didn't respond, so Alexander turned around and leaned into Laurens, catching his breath slowly.

~~~

 

_Dead_.

It kept echoing in his head.

_Dead_.

It hadn't even been a full week since the ship sank. He wasn't even that sick. He should have lasted for a while longer, or forever. It didn't matter how long, just one more day would have been nice.

Jemmy deserved better than this.

_Dead_.

And then Hamilton was talking again, and he couldn't even hear it. Everything everyone said sounded garbled and muffled.

But Thomas could definitely see when Hamilton swing his fist and connected it with that asshole’s face. He saw when he flew backwards into the water, and saw when Hamilton made a big deal and went in after.

_Dead_

_Hamilton could die too, idiot. He's just jumped into freezing cold water. Wake up, brain._

Thomas sprang into action, moving towards the end of the boat that Laurens was on. “Can you see him?”

“No!” Laurens shouted.”He just dived down.” Burr cursed and Lafayette moved to jump in after. Hercules held a hand up.

“Wait, Laf. We can't lose you both.” Peggy choked out a sob and Angelica shushed her, looking into the water.

They all sat like that, for what felt like an eternity.

And then a dark, lopsided lump broke through the surface of the water, and Thomas sighed in relief, hooking his arms under Hamilton to pull him up. The water made him heavy, dead weight, but Laurens was there to help. Always there to help. Good. Hamilton never took care of himself. Didn't eat, didn't sleep. Just wrote, and talked, and yelled like a tiny ball of fury running on half a cup of cold coffee and two hours of sleep.

Thomas sat back in his spot on the boat and bent his head down to his lap, closing his eyes.

_Dead._

_I’ll get you home._

~~~

The sun began to go down and Alexander wasn't happy about it. Everyone else was, because it meant they would cool down, but he was still sopping wet and freezing. He had been shivering for at least an hour now, unable to get warm.

But no sun meant no warmth, which meant he would probably die of hypothermia or some stupid shit like that.

_I guess it's better than Madison_ , he thought sadly, turning his head slightly so he could see the body. It had swollen slightly, and was starting to stink. But he didn't dare to suggest to throw it off the side of the boat. For one reason, it was inhumane. But for some reason, all Alexander could only think about how the dead body was like a lifeline for Jefferson, who wasn't talking or moving at all, his curls hiding his face from everyone.

Alexander felt so sad. Nobody should have to lose their best friend. He looked over at Laurens and shivered.

It took forever to fall asleep.

~~~

He woke up in the middle of the night to rain pouring down so fast that it hurt. Wind was throwing the boats through the water in every direction, the water turning into a death trap.

_Storm,_ a distant part of Alexander's brain thought stupidly. He grabbed the side of the boat as it almost completely flipped due to waves. Laurens cried out as he slammed into Alexander. In the other boat, Alexander could distantly hear someone crying over the wind and rain. Then a wave overturned his boat, and someone screamed, although he wasn't sure. He went under and struggled up, grabbing the boat as if it was a lifeline.

Then Jefferson was there, and they flipped the boat back over and climbed in. George followed soon after.

Another wave flipped the boat again, and saltwater made its way into Alexander's throat, burning his mouth and nose. He opened his mouth to breath but got more water.

_There's too much water-_

His head went under again and his arms shot up, trying to hold onto anything. He felt something and grabbed on, pulling up. His head broke the surface and he gasped in air, desperately breathing. Then another wave knocked somebody into him, and he went under again.

This time he couldn't find his way up, so he was tumbling in circles under the water. He was running out of breath. Everything started to go dark as he desperately flapped his arms, growing weaker every moment. He could faintly see somebody coming towards him, but he didn't know who. His vision was too fuzzy, and there was a loud ringing in his ears. 

The next thing he remembered, strong arms were pulling him back onto the boat. He collapsed inside, lying down, and didn't move, too exhausted to even keep his eyes open. So he laid there in the darkness, holding onto the sides of the boat as one by one, waves slammed against the sides. Alexander moved his hand along the side until he found the rope, which was being pulled and jostled - a good sign. It was still connected to the other boat.

He had no idea what was going on, though. Too tired to open his eyes or speak, he could only hope that everyone had made it back onto the boat safely.

After what felt like an eternity, the boat slammed against something and Alexander heard a shout. There was a loud splintering sound and then the boat was being ripped in half. Alexander yelled, falling into the cold water. He panicked but quickly realized it was shallow water.

_Land!_

He stumbled through the water, finally feeling sand beneath his feet. He collapsed next to somebody else, his cheek in the sand, and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, I had to add more disaster. and the next chapter is even worse


	11. some kind of dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I made a tumblr where I post my fanfics and art, so go check it out! The username is @graxeful.  
> Enjoy the chapter!

Alexander woke up quickly, shooting to his feet. He vaguely noticed sinking his feet into wet sand as he looked around. It was no longer dark, and the downpour had slowed to a light drizzle. Alexander sweeped his damp hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ears, as he turned around and immediately slammed into someone.

 

“Angelica!” he cried, grabbing her shoulders. “What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing her tear-streaked face.

 

“Peggy! I need to tell Eliza,” she said.

 

“Peggy? What about Peggy?” Angelica turned to leave. “No, wait! Angelica, what about Peggy?”

 

Angelica turned around, keeping her eyes on the ground. “She got knocked out of the boat. Never made it back.” Alexander stood in stunned silence, his eyes wide as she walked away.

 

He heard footsteps approaching. “Good to see you’re awake,” a voice said, choking back emotion. Alexander turned around, finding Hercules.

 

“Peggy is dead,” he said, his voice wavering. Hercules nodded, fixing his eyes on a point above Alexander’s head.

 

“So is John,” he said simply.

 

Alexander laughed. “John? He can’t be dead, Herc.”

 

“He is, Alexander.”

 

“No way! Nice try. Are you gonna tell me Laf didn’t make it now, too?” Alexander couldn’t stop giggling. _This can’t be happening,_ he thought to himself.

 

“I’m sorry, Alex.” Hercules stepped closer and Alexander took a step back, scanning the beach for signs of his friend. No freckles and curly hair anywhere. “I’m sorry.”

 

“No,” he whispered, eyes jumping everywhere. He tried to swallow, but his throat felt swollen, like nothing would go down. Tears started to form in his eyes. “He has to be here, Herc! He can’t just be _gone_ -” At the last word, his voice faltered and his knees started to give out. Hercules took a step closer and caught Alexander as he fell, embracing him in a tight hug as he pressed his face to his friend’s chest. The tears started spilling over, Alexander’s body jolting with every choked-back sob.

 

After what felt like forever or no time at all, he stood up and wiped his face with his shirt. He avoided looking at Hercules as he scanned the beach everyone was on.

 

“I have so much work to do,” he said softly, trying to get it all out before his voice cracked again.

 

Leaving Hercules kneeling in the sand, Alexander walked towards where everyone else was on the beach. He saw Lafayette sitting against a tree, his head between his knees. About ten feet away was Jefferson, who was just sitting with his legs crossed. He looked like he was staring at a spot on the ground, unmoving. George was pacing the beach, and Burr was still laying down, his cheek pressed into the sand, although his eyes were open.

 

_Shit._ Alexander ran over to Burr, who flinched as he got closer. Alexander stopped abruptly. “Thank God,” he said loudly, and then exploded. “You can’t just do that!” he shouted at Burr. “I thought you were dead!” Burr sat up, brushing his face off.

 

“Sorry, Alexander.”

 

“Sorry? That’s it?” Alexander grabbed his shirt and pulled him up, shoving his face towards his. “I thought you were dead and all I get is sorry?”

Burr pulled back and looked at Alexander. “What am I supposed to say?” he says, incredulous.

 

“Not sorry!” Alexander replied, his face crumpling at the last word. He turned around quickly so his back was to Burr. “Just forget it.”  
“What’s wrong, Alexander?”

 

“I said _forget_ it.” He walked over to the water’s edge and looked out at the now smooth ocean surface. The rain had completely stopped now and there was no wind. He looked out at the water, seeing tons of rocks. _I bet that’s what wrecked our lifeboats,_ he thought to himself, trying to distract himself. He saw small pieces of wood floating out farther in the ocean, but nothing else. No… bodies.

 

He shuddered and turned his back on the water, finally assessing where they were. There was a beach area, although the sand was unpleasant, shells and tiny rocks mixed in. About two hundred meters away from the water was a line of trees. From what Alexander could see, they wrapped around the entire island.

 

The island also looked deserted.

 

“Great,” he mumbled, mostly to himself.

 

“Figured it out, have you?” said a voice thick with an accent. Alexander turned to see Jefferson, still sitting in the same position.

 

“Figured out what?” Alexander spit out.

 

“Figured out we’re on a deserted island and three of us are dead. Oh, and our boats are ruined so the only hope of getting off of this island is to be rescued or build a raft or some survival shit like that.”

 

Alexander looked at Jefferson. “That’s it, Jefferson!”

 

“What?”

 

“Come help me build a signal fire,” he shouted, running away from Jefferson and into the woods. He heard a couple curse words and then footfalls behind him. Alexander reached the forest and grabbed a giant log that looked like it would break easily. Jefferson started grabbing smaller sticks to get it started. Once their hands were full, they ran back to the beach and set them all on a pile, running back for more.

 

After about ten minutes, they decided they had gotten a big enough pile. Alexander looked at Jefferson.

 

“So… how do we start it?” he asked the taller man.

 

“For fuck’s sake, Hamilton.” He grabbed a rock. “This is flint and I found it in there.” Jefferson waved his hand in the general direction of the woods.  
“Well, that’s great,” Alexander said. “But don’t you also need steel?”

 

Jefferson sighed. “I don’t know, Hamilton. I worked in an office with two espresso machines in a single _bathroom_ my whole life. But all I know is that flint can start fires.” Alexander groaned. “We have to work with what we’ve got!” Jefferson said loudly.

 

Alexander said nothing and walked back into the woods, looking for another piece of flint.

 

~~~

 

It was about midday when they finally got the fire started. Everyone had gathered there while they were working, because Jefferson and Alexander working together always attracted attention. The flames flared up and everyone cheered, even George, excited with the small victory.

 

“Okay, listen up everyone,” Alexander shouted. “We cannot let this go out, so just add a little wood when you see it getting low. Also, if the wood supply is getting low, there’s a bunch in the woods. Got it?” Everyone nodded and Alexander grunted. “Good.”

 

His mind was starting to think again, so he walked away from everyone, thinking of something to do with his hands to keep his brain busy. He heard someone approaching and turned around.

 

Angelica was standing behind him, her eyes sad but filled with determination. “I’m so sorry about John,” she said softly.

 

“It’s okay,” he replied.

 

“No it isn’t,” she replied. “But we have to make sure we get everyone off this island, so it’s a little more okay.” He nodded, and she continued. “I have to make it off this island, Alexander. I need to see Eliza and tell her how it happened.”

 

Alexander didn’t respond, unsure if she was still talking to him or speaking more to herself.

 

Later that day, when the sun started to set, everyone fell asleep except for Hercules and Angelica, who promised to watch the fire. The last thing Alexander remembered thinking was, _this has to be some kind of dream_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I think you guys deserve an apology for this one. I knew even before I wrote this chapter that I was going to kill Laurens, and I regretted it even before writing it. I couldn't NOT do it, though. Anyways, sorry.


	12. "I need a good laugh."

The next several days passed in a blur, and Alexander found himself working with the others quietly. The minutes stretched into hours, and the hours blended together until he could no longer distinguish night and day.

They had found tons of wood that probably fallen during the storm, and created a large shelter - three walls and a roof - that could easily fit everybody. It hadn't rained once since they crashed, which was okay since Burr found a small freshwater stream flowing near the beach.

Days were really good. Alexander focused on doing really hard tasks, like trying to fish using his bare hands, although lately, it had just been making him so mad he was reduced to tears.

More often than not, everyone fell asleep hungry.

Angelica and Hercules kept the fire burning, reminding everyone else to collect more wood when the supply started to dwindle.

The bodies of Peggy, Laurens, and Madison never found their way to shore. Alexander felt a sharp pain in his chest every time he thought of his friends, which was usually at night, so he never slept. Not many people did.

They had finally reached the one week mark when there was a shout from George. “Hey! I just saw something in the woods!” Everyone was gathering around him, so Alexander put down giant stick he was breaking and ran over.

George was pointing towards the forest, clearly agitated. “I’m telling you, there was a person!”

“And like I already said, you’re crazy,” Lafayette answered flatly. “There’s nobody on this island except us.”

“Hear, hear,” Jefferson said softly. “You’re just crazy, Georgie.” 

George turned on Jefferson. “What did I tell you guys?” he said slowly and clearly to the entire group.

“Probably something unimportant,” Alexander muttered under his breath. Burr smiled appreciatively but George wasn’t amused.

“I said to call me King!”

“Oh, not that again,” Alexander said loudly. “Look, we’re never gonna do that. It’s stupid.”

“It is not stupid and I’m obviously the one in charge; call me King.”

“In charge?” Alexander sputtered angrily.

“Hey, guys.” Angelica tried to butt in but Alexander shushed her. “GUYS!”

“What now?” he yelled back at her.

“I just saw a person in the forest, too.” Everyone stopped and looked towards the trees.

“But that’s impossible,” Hercules responded softly.

“I know,” Angelica replied. “Especially since I’m pretty sure it was the one guy who gave us the tour of the ship we were on.” That was followed by a stunned silence.

“You’re both crazy,” Burr whispered.

“I am not!” Angelica yelled. “And, what’s more, I’m gonna go in there and find out who’s out there!”

“You can’t just go,” Lafayette said.

Angelica snarled. “Just fucking watch me, french boy.” With that, she turned away and started stomping towards the trees.

“Well, somebody’s gotta go with her,” Alexander said. “Come on, George, looks like we’re gonna be accompanying Miss Schuyler on her daytime trip.” He grabbed his arm and started pulling him along. “Anyone else wanna come?”

“I’ll stay here with Laf and Hercules and keep the fire burning,” Jefferson said. “Burr can go with you.” He smiled at the shorter man, who glared and walked over to Alexander.

“Let’s get this over with,” he said, defeated.

~~~

Two hours into their “little” hike, Alexander was holding his arms over his head to fend off a side stitch. “I don’t think we’re going to find anybody,” Alexander said breathlessly.

Angelica ignored him. “No, we have to.”

“I think we’re going the wrong way,” George interjected.

“Well, it’s a good thing nobody asked you then,” Burr snarled. “Just shut up and keep walking.” 

“Don’t tell me what to do!”

“Guys, cool it,” Angelica snapped. “We have enough to worry about without you guys arguing the whole way there.”

“Oh, we’re actually going somewhere?” Alexander asked.

“Well, no,” Angelica replied sheepishly. “But he has to be somewhere in these woods.”

“It’s a big island, Ang.”

Suddenly, there was a loud snapping noise and then a thump, followed by incoherent swearing. Alexander and Angelica stopped, turning around to see Burr and George stuck in a net, like one of those traps on television where you step and a net flies up around you and dangles in the air.

“What the fuck?” Alexander said slowly. “I guess there really are other people out here.”

“No shit, Sherlock!” Burr yelled angrily, his face smushed into George’s shoulder. “Just get us down!”

Angelica sighed and grabbed a pointed rock and climbed up a tree near the trap. She began to saw at the rope.

Alexander looked up at Burr. “Comfy?” he asked.

“Fuck off, Alexander.” The shorter man laughed and stepped back as the rope finally snapped and the two went plunging to the ground. Burr ended up on top of George.

“Aw, I’m gonna cry if you guys end up married.”

“Well, I always thought you and Laurens were gonna get - oh, shit. I’m sorry, Alexander.” Burr stumbled to a stop and covered his face. “God, I’m so sorry.” Alexander turned away and started walking back the way they came from. “Alexander!”

“Go find them yourself, Burr.”

~~~

He arrived back at the camp about an hour later, hating how blurry everything was. He wished for his glasses, or some new contacts and solution to put them in.

_Why the hell would Burr think that was okay?_ he thought sadly, tears welling up. _No, don’t cry, asshole,_ he told himself. Alexander wiped his eyes and sniffed loudly, giving himself a moment before taking a deep breath and walking towards Hercules, Lafayette, and Jefferson.

Hercules was putting more wood on the fire, Lafayette was sitting at the same tree he was at the first day, and Jefferson was sitting on the beach, his knees pulled up to his face. The waves were pushing water towards him, so his feet were being sprayed with foamy water. Alexander stopped to look at him. Somehow, even without doing anything to it for a week, the curls were still just as curly. They spread out around his face, and Alexander bet if he ran his fingers through it, they would still be springy. And really soft. It looked really soft.

Alexander shook his head and cleared his throat, confused. “Maybe I should just go talk to Hercules,” he said out loud to himself. He turned away from Jefferson and walked over to his friend. _Jesus Christ, I can’t be thinking about running my fingers through Jefferson’s hair,_ he said to himself. _What’s next, admiring his chest or wanting to -_ He stopped himself from finishing the thought and spoke to Hercules.

“So, do we need more wood?”

“Nah, we’re pretty much covered for now.” Alexander nodded.

“Right.” The silence grew longer and Alexander cleared his throat.

“So, did you find anybody?” Hercules said quickly.

“No,” Alexander said. “But Burr and George got caught in a trap.”

Hercules laughed. “Yeah, nice try, Alex.”

“No, for real!” he said. “Ask them when they get back.”

“Oh, I will,” he said. “I need a good laugh.”

Alexander waved goodbye and walked away, sitting down in the hot sand. _Don’t we all,_ he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should address the "other people" out in the woods, guys.
> 
> Hope you're enjoying it!


	13. "I promised myself."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little secret for you guys...
> 
> None of this fic has been edited or revised or even read back over by me (I'm too lazy). Also, it's un-beta'd, so all mistakes are totally my fault.
> 
> Don't tell anyone!
> 
> Also, this is a slightly shorter chapter, so sorry about that. I couldn't get mg brain to work right.
> 
> Oh, and this is an entirely Jefferson/Hamilton related chapter. Enjoy!!

Alexander was trying to sleep.

It wasn't working, but that was no surprise. The entire time he was on the island, he had probably only gotten about one full night's sleep, accumulated throughout the two weeks.

He wasn't the only one unable to sleep, either. Angelica slept but woke often because of frequent nightmares. Lafayette slept the whole night, but it was fitfully and he could never just lay still.

Hercules and Burr actually slept, but it appeared that no matter how long they did, the two still woke up dead tired. George was fine, and it wasn't like anyone on the island cared about him anyways. Jefferson wasn't sleeping, either, so that's why he and Alexander usually took turns keeping watch and putting wood on the signal fire.

But he wasn't on watch duty tonight, so he was forced to just lay there and try not to let his thoughts consume him.

It was no use. A long time after everyone else had fallen asleep, he was laying, eyes wide open, remembering the last time all his friends were still together.

Peggy was sitting on the couch with Lafayette, adding snarky comments to the movie’s dialogue. Theo was watching everyone in amusement as they fell on top of each other during Twister.

And Laurens was always there after everyone else was gone, helping Alexander pick things up, always there to keep him company. He felt himself choke up and he stood up, shaking sand off of himself. Trying not to think never got him anywhere. He needed a better distraction.

Alexander walked over to the only person still awake, who was Jefferson. He sat down next to him, criss-cross, and looked at the ground.

“What do you want, Hamilton?” Jefferson said in a monotone.

“I…” Alexander had no idea what to say. “I couldn't sleep,” he finished lamely.

“Yeah, well, join the club,” Jefferson replied, his voice still completely flat. The two sat there in silence and then Jefferson got up, walking over to the fire to add more wood. He walked back over and sat down next to Alexander, who hadn't expected him to come back.

“So why are you over here?” Jefferson asked finally.

“I told you, I couldn't sleep.”

“Yeah, but why talk to me? I mean, you hate me,” Jefferson said.

Alexander barked out a short, emotionless laugh before responding. “Guess I don't hate you as much as I thought I did.”

Jefferson didn't reply, just digging a stick into the sand with a twisting motion. They sat like that for hours, and Alexander found it comforting, just sitting there in silence.

About halfway through the night, Angelica walked over and joined them, sitting next to Alexander.

“Hi, guys,” she said quietly, yawning.

“Hey, Angelica,” Jefferson said.

Then, out of nowhere, Angelica said, “I miss Peggy.” Jefferson stopped grinding the stick into the ground and Alexander coughed.

“I miss her too,” he said. “And John.” Angelica sighed and laid her head on Alexander's shoulder.

“How am I supposed to tell Eliza?” she said softly. “She's going to feel awful. I mean, the only reason Peggy came was because Eliza didn't want to. She gets seasick.”

“Eliza will move on,” Jefferson said.

“How do you know?” Angelica shot, suddenly defensive.

“Because I am already. It's terrifying.”

“Oh,” Angelica replied. “I'm so sorry about Madison.”

Jefferson grunted but didn't respond. Alexander didn't know how to help either of them, so he stayed quiet.

“I promised to get the body back home,” Jefferson said suddenly.

“You promised a dead guy?” Alexander said, and Angelica hit him on the back of the head.

“No, you dipshit,” Jefferson said, glaring at Alexander. “I promised myself.”

“Oh. I'm sorry,” he said.

“Yeah,” Jefferson sighed, “me too.”

Angelica fell asleep pretty quickly after that, laying down in the sand next to Alexander. He stayed quiet, and saw the sun starting to poke out from the horizon, finally beginning to feel tired. He yawned widely, drifting off into sleep.

~~~

They sat there for a long time, until Angelica Schuyler had fallen asleep. Hamilton started nodding off, too, his body starting to tilt towards me. Thomas moved over a little, so that if he fell, he would only hit the side of his body and not the ground.

 _Say what you want, but Hamilton even said that he didn't hate me,_ Thomas said to himself. And that's good.

Sure enough, Hamilton fell asleep, his head coming to rest on Thomas's shoulder. And then the sun was up, and Jefferson still didn't move, even when Hercules came over and saw them, then walked away confused.

Lafayette came over to put more wood on the fire and saw the two sitting there. He quirked an eyebrow at Thomas, who shrugged one shoulder so as not to wake Hamilton. Lafayette smiled suggestively, and Thomas flipped him the bird, glaring at his friend. Lafayette laughed and walked away.

Eventually Hamilton woke up, groggily shaking his head and sitting up.

“Jefferson?” he said, confused. “What was I doing?”

“Sleeping,” Thomas replied.

“Why didn't you wake me up?” The shorter man asked, appearing to get angry.

“Because that was probably the most sleep you've gotten on this island, and it was only about two hours.” Thomas said.

“Oh.” Alexander replied. “Well, thanks Jefferson,” he said slowly, like he didn't know if he should be thanking him or not.

“Call me Thomas,” he answered. “I mean, we did just spend a whole night together.” He was trying to get Alexander to start arguing with him, but what he didn't expect was for him to blush and look down at the ground.

“Shut the fuck up, Jefferson,” he said to the sand.

“Thomas.”

“Fine! Thomas,” he shouted out, throwing his hand up. “Thank you, _Thomas_.”

Alexander stood up and walked away, trying to talk to Burr, who kept glaring at him tiredly. Thomas sighed, and wondered when exactly during the night he started to call Alexander “Alexander” instead of “Hamilton”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to leave a comment or kudos if you want!


	14. "beacon of hope"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A happy chapter for you guys!
> 
> (Also, it's shorter because I have some really bad writer's block but I wanted to feel productive and post something)

Their “beacon of hope” (which is what Hercules had started to call the giant bonfire), was slowly draining everyone of their hope.

There were no planes flying over the island. There were no boats on the horizon that anyone could see.

Alexander was so desperate for rescue that he crossed his fingers every night for a tiny Nigerian drug plane to crash somewhere, although he knew that wasn't going to happen.

Alexander got up from the sand and shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and walked over to Lafayette, who had been tallying the days that they were on the island on the sand with a stick. The marks were far enough from the water that the waves couldn't reach.

“How long has it been?” Alexander asked, peering at the lines.

“Twenty-two,” Lafayette said glumly. “I hope it isn't much longer.” Alexander nodded his head and rested his hand on Lafayette's shoulder, and then turned and walked back to where he was sitting.

He wasn't by himself for long until Angelica plopped down beside him in only underwear and her sports bra. Alexander stared at her face questioningly. “Uh, what are you doing, A?”

She sighed and stood back up. “Come on, Alexander, get everyone up and into the water.”

“Why?”

“Because,” she said exasperatedly. “It's hot and swimming by myself is boring.” Alexander smiled and jumped up, yelling for everyone to hear.

“Come on, guys! Time to go swimming!” He shouted happily. Everyone looked over and Hercules and Lafayette began walking down to the shore. Burr shrugged at Thomas, who ignored everyone. “Well, except George,” Alexander continued. “He's not invited.” That prompted Thomas and Burr to laugh, and they stood up and walked down to the shore, taking off their shirts.

And… _Jesus Christ,_ Alexander thought to himself as Thomas got closer. _He has abs, and a chest, and, and…_ His thoughts cut off as Lafayette splayed his hand out on Alexander's chest and pushed him back a little.

“You're staring,” he said accusingly, raising an eyebrow.

“No - I wasn't - it was just -” Alexander stammered out.

A shit-eating grin appeared on Lafayette's face and he pushed Alexander back farther, so they were both getting sprayed by the ocean froth. “Don't worry, mon ami. I won't tell.”

“There's nothing to tell,” Alexander said incredulously as Lafayette walked around him into the water. “You’re just misinterpreting!”

Instead of a response, Burr walked up to Alexander. “You gonna actually get in the water, or just argue with people like always?”

“Shut your dick-eating facehole before I make you hang out with George,” Alexander replied, turning away, smiling.

“That's real colorful language,” he heard Burr mutter as he followed the shorter man to Angelica. “Hey,” he said. Angelica didn’t answer, kicking tiny splashes up at the two men instead. Alexander and Burr dove in opposite directions to avoid the icy spray. Angelica cupped her hands in the water and threw it on Lafayette, who shook his head, causing water to spray everywhere.

Lafayette, in return, bent down and used the entire length of his arms to splash Angelica, but she screeched, running over to Thomas and hiding behind him. He was soaked, his hair becoming a sopping mess, hanging to his shoulders. Alexander laughed as Thomas turned to Angelica, a look of feigned anger on his face. “Oh, that’s _it,_ Schuyler!” He picked her up and walked sluggishly into deeper water, where he dunked her completely and then sloshed back up to avoid her retaliation. Everyone was laughing at this point, splashing each other and trying to stay as dry as possible.

Hercules wasn’t even bothering to splash people; all he did was run up behind them and jump onto their backs, causing them to collapse into the water with his dead weight on top.

It was so hot, and the water felt so nice. Until Hercules jumped onto Alexander and his knees gave out and he hit the waves, inhaling a bunch of ocean water. Hercules rolled off and Alexander sat up, coughing and wheezing and trying not to gag. And he was still laughing, tears streaming from his eyes. He looked around at everyone, who were still going at it like it was a full out battle. Thomas, though, had his hands on his knees, laughing like crazy at Alexander, who was sopping wet.

He stood up shakily, trying not to fall back over as a wave crashed into his middle. “You wanna go?” he shouted at Thomas, who just wheezed harder. Alexander splashed over, kicking water up towards his abdomen. Thomas shouted and stood up, towering over Alexander.

“That wasn’t the right thing to do, Alexander.”

 

“Oh, what’re you gonna do? Splash me again?” They were both smiling like crazy, trying to hide it.

“Don’t be so stupid, Alexander.” Thomas grinned evilly and quickly put his arm under Alexander’s knees, holding him tightly to his chest bridal-style. Alexander had just enough common sense to admire the warm skin, even though they were playing in icy cold water.

“Hey!” Alexander started kicking suddenly, remembering what was happening. “Let me go!” 

“Not until I dunk you!” the taller man shouted back, dropping Alexander into the waves. He got up quickly, laughing with Thomas. Another wave hit and they both fell over, Thomas disappearing completely under the frothy water. He came back up choking and laughing. All around them were the sounds of Angelica and Burr screeching (Burr’s yell was oddly high-pitched). Alexander laughed at Thomas, who stood up and was immediately knocked down by another wave. Hercules let out a war cry in the distance, but he was ignored.

Thomas finally managed to stand up and extended a hand towards Alexander, who was still sitting in the water. Alexander grabbed it and he pulled him up. They both stood in front of each other, grinning widely. Alexander was out of breath and his knees hurt from all the shells in the sand, but it was totally worth it.

And from the happy smile on Thomas’s face, he thought so too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave kudos/comments!


	15. "A map,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy!!

Alexander was worried.

After all, every good thing must come to an end eventually.

Alexander predicted that by the end of the week, something either really weird, really bad, or really confusing would happen.

Three days later, he realized that he was right.

He was sleeping in the sand again, Burr a few feet away, stretched out, his chest to the sand. There was a loud crashing noise, followed by a blaring sound that Alexander couldn't explain. It sounded like chains being dragged over asphalt, accompanied by high-pitched shrieks. Or screeching gears.

Alexander jolted awake and immediately covered his ears with his hands, pressing them as hard as he could. The others on the beach were sitting up or standing, doing the same.

“What's that noise?” Alexander shouted, but he couldn't hear his voice over the deafening noise. So he got up and ran over to Hercules and Lafayette, who were crouching in the sand. He took his hands off of his ears for a second to pull on their arms, beckoning them to follow him. They all stood up and ran over to the others, who had gathered around Burr.

Nobody knew what to do, so they all huddled together pointlessly and kept their ears covered, trying to silence the jarring noise.

All of a sudden, the ground started shaking beneath them. Burr and Lafayette fell over, collapsing into the sand. Alexander crouched down lower so he wouldn't fall, and shuffled closer to Hercules, who was practically a part of George because of the lack of distance between them.

And then, as suddenly as it had started, the ground stilled and the noise stopped. Nobody moved, keeping their hands over their ears and keeping their position in the sand, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

“What… Was that?” Thomas said finally, his voice shaky. Alexander removed his hands from his ears and Angelica followed suit, prompting the others to do the same. Hercules leaned away from George and helped Lafayette and Burr up so everyone was standing in a close circle.

“Who knows,” Angelica muttered quietly, looking around. “What if it has something to do with the crew members in the forest?”

“You really think those are connected?” Burr asked.

“Well, there can only be so many crazy things on this island,” she countered.

“Yeah, but that's only the second weird thing, Angelica,” Lafayette pointed out. “Although I don't think this is a coincidence.”

Hercules nodded his head. “Too weird.”

Everyone fell silent, but Alexander was thinking. Finally he burst out. “We don't know anything about this island,” he said loudly.

“What's your point?” Thomas said dryly.

“My _point_ ,” Alexander snapped, “is that maybe we should at least figure out what's around us.”

Everyone was quiet. “A map,” George finally said. Alexander nodded.

“Yeah, a map! Imagine how much better off we could be if we knew where things were. Another clean water source, food supplies, landmarks in case we get lost!”

“I think it's a good idea,” Hercules said after a second. “And we might figure out what the hell is happening while we’re at it.”

Alexander looked around at the others. “So it's a plan?”

~~~

Two hours later, everyone set off. The plan was to split into pairs and travel throughout the island with food and water. They didn't have anything to write on, so Alexander stressed the importance of remembering landmarks they had seen.

Alexander was traveling with Lafayette towards the other end of the island, so they would get back last. Hercules and Burr were heading west, following the shoreline. Angelica and Thomas were going in the opposite direction, east. George was going with the two because Alexander didn't trust him with Burr - or Hercules, who lately always looked ready to snap. And Alexander didn't want to deal with him.

“Okay, guys,” Alexander said loudly so everyone could hear. “Be careful and take your time. Remember important things you see.” He paused and looked at everyone in turn. “See you in a couple days?”

“Yeah.” Hercules nodded and store forwards, grabbing Alexander and Lafayette in his arms. “Be careful, guys.” He released them and turned, slapping Burr on the back and turning west. Alexander and Lafayette looked at each other, shrugging. They walked into the woods as Thomas, Angelica, and George went east.

Alexander and Lafayette walked as quietly as they could for about ten minutes, not seeing anything that Alexander hadn't seen before. He stopped when they reached the path he had taken with Burr to look for the other people. “Let's go this way,” Alexander told Lafayette quietly, and stepped over a fallen log that Lafayette just barely saw and tripped over, although he didn't fall entirely. Alexander snorted. “Slick.”

“Shut up, Alexander. At least I'm not going to trip over a giant rock,” Lafayette said. Alexander turned around to respond and immediately fell over backwards, his head hitting the dirt.

“Ah, _shit,_ ” he cursed, closing his eyes and not moving. Lafayette burst out laughing, sitting down on the log he had tripped over. “This isn't funny, Laf!” Alexander snarled at his friend, who just laughed harder.

After a minute or two, Lafayette stopped laughing, wiping his eyes with his finger. “Classic, really,” he said, and stood up, extending a hand to his friend. “Come on, mon ami.” He pulled Alexander up and kicked at the rock, pushing it into the underbrush. “Let's go find some landmarks.”

“Good idea,” Alexander said. “Let's start with ‘giant fucking boulder’”.

Lafayette chuckled and shook his head. “It wasn't even that big.”

~~~

Thomas hated this.

Being stuck with George was probably the worst thing that could have happened to him. He understood why, though. For obvious reasons, he couldn't go with Burr, and Alexander probably would have murdered him and stumbled back through the forest with his head thrown over his own, yelling victoriously about how he had finally rid the island of the “tyrant bastard” (which Thomas had actually overheard Alexander mutter one night).

So he and Angelica were stuck with George. Thomas hoped that they found a giant cliff that he could “accidentally” push the man off of. And going by Angelica's scowl an hour into the hike, she agreed.

“This is awful,” Angelica muttered, slowing down so George could pass her. “He won't stop telling me how we need to be more respectful towards him because he's ‘more important’. I mean, what complete and utter bullshit.”

Thomas laughed, a short huff of air really, and smiled apologetically at the woman. “We just need to focus on other things.”

“Like what?”

“Not how good my hand would look around George's throat, that's for sure.”

Angelica's jaw dropped, and she quickly closed it, smiling widely. “Jesus, Jefferson.”

“Come on, guys, you're too slow. Stick with me; I know what I'm doing better than you,” George called from about two feet in front of them, oblivious to the fact that they were literally so close to him that they had to try not to step on the backs of his shoes. Thomas rolled his eyes and Angelica flipped off George's back, sighing loudly.

“Alexander better be fucking happy,” she said bitterly, stepping over a tree root. "Cause this sucks."


	16. the dead and the gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M REALLY SORRY FOR THE WAIT, LET ME EXPLAIN.
> 
> Basically, everyone on my tumblr has been posting Voltron and Yuri!!! On Ice nonstop, so of course I had to check out the hype.
> 
> And of course it ruined me. I couldn't think about anything else and basically completely forgot about my Jamilton fics.
> 
> Have a shorter chapter to hold you over, guys.

“So, what do you think about Jefferson and Alex?” Hercules said loudly after a couple minutes of awkward silence.

“What do you mean?” Burr asked absentmindedly, his eyes taking in everything around them.

_Right, we're supposed to be watching for landmarks,_ Hercules thought guiltily. Out loud, he said, “I mean, they've been getting along better than usual. I would've thought one of them would have killed the other by now, you know?”

Burr chuckled and then stopped suddenly, turning around to stare at Hercules. His eyes were oddly depressed, cutting a hole right through Hercules. “I guess it's because they realized fighting wouldn't help them,” Burr said softly. “I mean, they've both lost people. Maybe they don't want anyone else to go.”

“Yeah, but I thought they hated each other,” Hercules replied, pointing up to a tree that was much bigger than the others. “Let's remember where this is.”

Burr nodded. “Maybe they're done hating each other because they figured out that we all have better chances of getting off this goddamn island if we work together.”

The two fell silent, walking along the shoreline but keeping sight of the trees. “Wouldn't it be hilarious if they got together?” He asked, his voice offhand. Burr stumbled and choked, turning around again to face Hercules. His eyes were wide and his entire face had gone pale.

“Let’s keep it within the realm of possibility, okay, Herc?”

In reply, he just grinned and started walking faster to pass Burr. “Sure thing, buddy,” he sang, his voice rising. Burr rolled his eyes and he grinned wider. “Don't make me skip, Aaron boy.”

Burr stopped in his tracks. “If you call me that again I'm heading straight back to that godforsaken beach, and I am not kidding.”

Hercules groaned but slowed down, his voice returning to the normal pitch. “Alright, you win.”

~~~

Thomas and the rest of his group were the first to arrive back at the beach. They had made their way around the part of the island they were assigned and saw pretty much nothing, except for a cliff (an actual cliff; unfortunately, George had stayed well away from it).

As soon as they reached the beach, Angelica found a long stick and started drawing in the sand with it. Thomas watched as she drew a crude circle shape with a slightly smaller circle in the middle. Next, she drew where their bonfire had been burning, and the cliff that they had seen a while back. She looked up when she was finished, smiling at Thomas. “A map,” she said proudly.

He nodded, walking closer. “Yeah, but I think the cliff was a little smaller, and closer to our beach,” he said, pointing with his finger. She studied it for a second and turned back to him.

“Nope, I think mine’s more accurate.” He opened his mouth to respond but Angelica cut him off. “How about you draw your own and then when everyone else gets back, they can add their parts to each and we’ll see which is more accurate.”

Thomas stuck his hand out towards her and she grasped it, shaking once, firmly. “Deal,” he said, and walked off to find a stick.

"I'm going to make a map, too," George yelled over to the two of them. Angelica rolled her eyes and ignored the man, Thomas trying not to laugh. _Seriously, when was this guy going to learn?_

~~~

Alexander stopped to rest about four hours into his and Lafayette's journey through the forest. “Hey, what do you think of a break?” he called, already sitting down against a large tree next to the “path” they were taking.

Lafayette collapsed next to his friend, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. “Sounds good to me,” he mumbled. They sat like that, next to each other, in silence.

After a few moments, Alexander turned his head away from Lafayette so that he couldn't see the other man, choosing to look deep into the forest instead. “I miss John,” he said softly.

He heard movements, and then felt Lafayette crush his body up against Alexander's. He wedged his left arm between Alexander's back and the tree, the other wrapping around his front. He leaned his head on top of his friend's, his hot breath warming Alexander's neck and cheek. Lafayette then scooted closer so there wasn't any space between the two. “I know, Alex,” he replied simply. “I miss him, too.”

He didn't say anything else, instead allowing Alexander to stare off into the distance and pretending not to notice the tears forming in the smaller man's eyes.He also said nothing when Alexander started to really cry, remembering how Madison had just died, his body laying on the boat, and seeing Thomas's look of utter sadness. He remembered how the boats had swayed, and then rocked violently, eventually throwing them out into the icy water over and over again. Alexander remembered finding his way back eventually, and never realizing that there was too much room inside because his best friend had never made it back. His body had been thrown out and he’d probably fought so hard to get back, back to Alexander. He remembered waking up on a beach where his best friend was lost forever and there was nothing he could ever do to find him.

After a long time, Alexander stopped crying, trying to calm himself down. He wiped away his tears and turned his head towards his friend. He spoke slowly and clearly, focusing on getting the words out without hiccuping. “It's going to get dark soon. Let's gather some wood and get a fire started.” Lafayette nodded against Alexander's head and retracted his arms, standing up and offering a hand to Alexander, who took it, smiling sadly up at his friend. They walked into the forest together, both trying not to think anymore about the dead and the gone.


	17. “You’re a, how you say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY SORRY SORRY
> 
> I really wanted to update this sooner, but I had some major writer's block. Take this shitty chapter and there'll be more soon!!!

Alexander and Lafayette finally reached their beach again after two and a half days.

When they arrived, everyone else, who had been sitting around a random spot in the sand with sticks in their hands, jumped up and ran over to them. Hercules got there first, wrapping the two in an enormous hug. “Hey guys,” he said, his voice muffled because it was smushed against Lafayette's shoulder. He pulled back and smiled brightly.

“Come over here, you three,” Angelica said, beckoning them over to where she was sitting. “We’re making a map.”

“Maps,” Thomas cut in. “As in multiple ones. And mine is gonna beat yours, Schuyler.”

Angelica rolled her eyes and gave her stick to Alexander, who took it confusedly. “You guys are competing to see who can make a better map?” he asked.

Angelica nodded. “Yes, but Jefferson is a bit more competitive than me.” She grabbed his wrist and led him over to her map, which was etched into the sand. “Add what you and Lafayette saw to mine and his, okay?” Alexander nodded and got to work, although there wasn't much to do. He and Lafayette hadn't seen much that was worth putting down. He did, however, put the path that he and his friend had made before getting up and walking over to Thomas’ map. He did the same, adding the path and even the giant boulder he'd tripped over.

“What's that?” Thomas asked lazily, pointing to the circle Alexander had just made.

“It's a rock,” he answered defensively.

Thomas looked up at him from his spot on the sand. “A rock.” Alexander nodded.

“I already told you, Alex, that can't be a landmark,” Lafayette said from behind him.

“Wait, is this just a tiny little rock?” Thomas asked, looking instead to Lafayette.

Alexander shouted no at the same time Lafayette said, “Yes. It's smaller than my head and Alex tripped over it.”

He groaned and threw the stick on the ground. “Fine then, Laf,” he said grumpily. “You finish the maps then.” Lafayette didn't complain, instead smirking to Thomas. “Don't laugh at my misfortune!” Alexander yelled, stomping away to where Burr was sitting, a few feet away from Angelica.

After a few minutes of silence, Alexander noticed something. “Hang on,” he said slowly. “Where's George?”

“Who cares?” Burr spit out violently. “I hate him.”

Thomas nodded. “Yeah, he's an annoying, self-conceited dick.”

Alexander glared at him. “Yeah, okay, I never said he wasn’t, but where is he?”

“Relax, Alexander,” he replied. “He left a while ago before you and Lafayette got back. He went that way.” Thomas pointed lazily to the east, not really paying attention because he was too busy with fixing his map (which Alexander had to admit was better than Angelica's - she forgot how the island dipped out on one side and Thomas’ was all-around more proportionate).

After a minute, Alexander exhaled loudly through his nose and started walking in the direction that Thomas pointed to. “Hey, where are you going?” Hercules asked, standing up from the spot on the sand that he had just taken next to Angelica. “Alexander! Why are you worrying about him? He’ll come back eventually.”

Alexander turned around, facing everyone. “But what if he doesn’t?”

Thomas stood up too, gripping the stick in his hand. “He will.”

“But - _what if_ -”

“He will. Come on, don’t wander off by yourself, Alexander.” Thomas took a step forward, starting to wave the small branch around as he talked. “If you go by yourself to look for that asshole, you might never come back.”

“Yeah,” Angelica interjected. “And we don’t need another death on our hands.”

Lafayette nodded. “We already lost Madison. _And_ Peggy and John. Come on.”

Alexander shook his head and turned back around but didn’t walk away, instead standing still. “If you’re so worried, someone should come with.” He heard Burr groan loudly as he traipsed away, his feet sinking slightly into the sand. Nobody came after him, so he kept walking. _Good,_ he thought. _If I’m gonna die, I don’t want someone pestering me the entire time._

He walked for about ten minutes until he couldn’t see anyone anymore because of the curve of the island. It was weird; he had been following George’s footsteps, but they had been getting lighter, as if George himself was losing weight and he was sinking into the sand less. Alexander shook his head, choosing to ignore this, and kept walking.

After another ten minutes though, the footsteps disappeared completely. “What the hell?” he muttered to himself. “This goddamn island is being weird again,” he declared, raising his voice for no reason whatsoever.

Alexander shrugged, thinking back to when George had pushed him into the water when they were all still on those lifeboats. _Whatever. I guess he will come back eventually._ He changed direction, slowly making the walk back to “camp”. When he got back, he saw everyone on edge. Hercules and Thomas were pacing back and forth, every once in a while muttering curse words. Angelica was glaring at both of them, as if willing them to sit the fuck down. Burr and Lafayette were literally laying on their stomachs on the sand, their eyes closed. Alexander tried not to laugh at the lot of them.

“Hey, guys,” he announced. Immediately, everyone looked at him, Angelica glaring and closing her eyes briefly before letting out a stream of curses. Thomas and Hercules stopped pacing, instead standing still, their arms at their sides, relief evident on both of their faces. Lafayette jerked up, sitting straight.

“You’re a, how you say.” Alexander raised his eyebrows. “A dumbass,” Lafayette finished, before laying back down.

Alexander grinned. “Hey, Burr.”

“Shut the hell up,” he said, his voice muffled. “You scared the shit out of all of us.”

“Yeah, well, I have something to tell you guys,” Alexander said, walking over to Angelica. “It’s about where George could’ve gone.”

Thomas’ eyebrows furrowed, evidently confused. “What do you mean, where George could’ve gone?”


	18. "But how is that possible?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voltron season two just came out on Netflix (Frick yes) so I wanted to get another chapter out before I got sucked back into the fandom. Sorry it's so short but I hope you like it!!

“So, he just… Disappeared?”

Alexander groaned and put his head in his hands. “Yes, Burr, how many times do I have to tell you this for you to believe me?”

“Well, it sounds insane, so maybe if it were more believable we'd, you know. Believe you,” Thomas interjected. Angelica nodded in agreement. “People just can't vanish into thin air, Alexander,” he finished.

“Just - let me show you guys.” Lafayette shook his head. “Please, you guys need to see it!” Burr was glaring at the sand, silent and unwavering. “Just think about it, okay?”

Hercules sighed, rolling his neck to one side. “Fine, we’ll think about it.” Alexander closed his eyes briefly, relieved, and then stood up and walked over to the makeshift “tents” they'd been working on for the past couple days. He sat down and watched as everyone talked about it, Angelica and Lafayette becoming more agitated as the conversation grew.

~~~

“We can't actually do it, guys.”

Thomas shook his head. “I don't know. I mean, we could figure out exactly what's going on with this creepy island.”

“Yeah, or we could get killed,” Lafayette retorted. “I'm all for not being confused about this place, but I'd like to stay alive while I'm at it!”

“Hey, relax,” Thomas said, placing a hand on Lafayette's forearm. His friend stopped talking and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Thomas glanced over to where Alexander was sitting and immediately looked away, noticing Alexander's glare. Not at him, but Lafayette. _He just must be able to hear Lafayette's protests,_ Thomas told himself. Nevertheless, he retracted his hand and placed it in his lap instead.

“I think we should go,” Hercules said softly, more to himself than anyone, before looking up. “I mean, this is pretty important. And if we're gonna be stuck on this island for a while, we should know what the hell's wrong with it.”

“I agree,” Thomas and Burr said at the same time. Lafayette just groaned and shook his head while Angelica creased her eyebrows, evidently thinking.

“Fine. Okay,” Angelica said.

Lafayette whipped his head towards her, his face turning to disbelief. “Angelica, no.”

She held up a hand and looked at him, smiling slightly. “Don't worry, Laf. Hercules, Burr, and Thomas can go with Alexander. We'll stay.”

“Hang on,” Hercules said. “This is weird, okay? I think we should all stick together if the island's being creepy.”

“Well, we've split up before and nothing happened,” Burr said.

Thomas snorted. “Yeah, and you got stuck in a netted trap with George, who is _missing_.”

Suddenly a shout interrupted them. “Hey, you guys done yet?” Everyone looked back at where Alexander was sitting. He was still glaring at Lafayette, who sighed and looked over at Thomas, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, we're done,” Lafayette shouted while Thomas squinted and looked up at the sky, confused. “Come on over.” Thomas heard Alexander walking over, the hot sand crunching slightly under his shoes, and then he saw him sit down across from him and Lafayette, in between Burr and Angelica.

“So… Are we going?”

“Yes… And no,” Angelica finished after trailing off, looking at Alexander. “Me and Lafayette will stay here and the rest of you can go.”

Alexander shook his head slowly, looking confused. “No, Angelica, we have to stick together. You weren’t there, okay? I don’t think we should be separated.” She raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to speak but Alexander cut her off. Thomas was glad this time that he wasn’t the one on the receiving end of his glare, instead getting to watch him get increasingly angry at Angelica, which rarely happened. “That part of the island over there is creepy as hell and it makes me nervous, Angelica.”

“I’m not going, Alex,” Lafayette interjected. “And nothing you say is going to change my mind.”

Alexander turned back to Lafayette, his glare murderous, and Thomas looked between the two, taking in Lafayette’s increasingly annoyed face and Alexander, who looked ready to snap. “Okay,” he said slowly. “I think Laf and Angelica staying is okay, Alexander.”

“Good thing I didn’t ask you then.”

“Alright, Alex, come on. They’re big kids; let’s just go.” Hercules leaned past Burr placed a hand on his arm, trying to calm him. It worked, and Alexander sighed, standing up.

“Fine. Whatever. Don’t let the fire go out.” He started walking away and stopped about ten feet away from the group. “You guys coming?”

Burr groaned and stood up, waving sadly to Angelica. “If we aren’t back before dark, stay here and look for us in the morning, okay?” Lafayette nodded, dejected, and the rest of the group stood up, following Alexander and leaving Angelica and Lafayette standing alone in the sand.

Everyone followed Alexander silently along the beach, and Thomas noticed George’s footprints - they were far enough away from the water that there was no way waves could have washed them away. After a while though, that's what Thomas suspected - what other reason was there for the footsteps disappearing? And after a while, Alexander stopped and turned towards the others.

“Look,” he explained, bending down. “The footprints just stop here.”

“But how is that possible?” Burr whispered. “I mean, we aren't close enough to the forest for him to have gone off in there to hide his tracks.”

“Well, maybe that is what happened,” Thomas said slowly. “I mean, what else do we have right now?” Everyone else agreed (some more slowly than others), so they walked towards the forest - and immediately saw the problem.

After a few beats of stunned silence, Hercules spoke. “Dinosaurs are extinct, right?”

In front of the group were two huge footsteps, with webbed toes _and_ long claws. Each footstep was at least seven meters long. And lying in the left one was George’s lifeless body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my tumblr has changed to @graxeful, so go talk to me!


	19. Bridal Style

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have returned from my hole in the ground to give you a new, short, and not-very-good chapter

"Jesus Christ."

Alexander sighed and turned to face the others. "Yeah, it's not like I fucking told you or anything." He pointed to George, who was splayed out inside the giant footprint, looking very much dead. He stepped into the footprint and checked for a pulse. "He isn't."

"Isn't what?" Burr asked softly.

"He isn't dead," Alexander replied. "I just checked his pulse, and it's weak like his limbs, but he's still alive." Hercules laughed, and then started giggling like a teenage girl. "Hercules, this isn't really a good time to be laughing." That, of course, made him laugh harder.

Burr dropped to the ground and then slid himself into the footprint, aligning his body with the length of the indent. He started muttering to himself. "I'm confused as to what the hell is going on," Thomas said, watching Burr take in the sheer size in the sand.

"Oh, good. So it isn't much different than any other day," Alexander snarled.

Thomas turned to him, forgetting the footprint. "Hey, what's your problem today?"

Alexander ignored him, instead opting to address the more dire situation (which Thomas understood was pretty much the most important thing at the moment). "Hercules, can you carry George?" He finally stopped giggling and nodded, all business, and picked the man up, slinging him over his left shoulder. Burr stared.

"What? You think I should carry him bridal style?"

~~~~~

Thomas, Alexander, Burr, and Hercules (who was carrying George) arrived back at the camp just as the moon dipped below the horizon, plunging the island into darkness. The only light they had now was the fire, which was still burning strongly. While they were gone, Angelica or Lafayette had gotten more wood, and one of them had even caught a few fish.

The group stumbled up to their friends and set George down on the sand. Angelica jumped up, running over to him. Lafayette's mouth dropped open in shock. "What- What the..."

"Oh, it gets weirder, buddy," Burr said, collapsing onto the sand. "Wait until Alex tells you where we found him." Angelica and Lafayette looked at Alexander, who sat down near the fire and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, so I'm pretty sure this island has dinosaurs or some kind of giant, evil monster. And I think it tried to smash George." Hercules giggled once. "Really, dude?"

Angelica started laughing. "Hang on, hang on! Did you say dinosaur?"

"Yeah. Or a big monster born from Satan's butthole."

"Well, Satan's butthole _is_ a good way to describe this hell island," Thomas said, almost sounding bored. Alexander ignored him.

"There can't be dinosaurs on this island, Alex," Angelica said. Alexander asked why not. "Because! They're extinct! Don't be an idiot."

"Jurrasic Park."

Lafayette facepalmed and Angelica visibly winced.

"Look, you didn't see it," Burr interjected, before Alexander could start an argument. "It was huge, and terrifying, and it looked like the real deal." Nobody said anything, so he continued. "It was insane. It was twice the length of my entire body, and--"

"Wow, this is the most I've heard you talk all at once," Hercules interrupted, and Alexander laughed. It was a nice sound, Thomas thought.

"I don't believe you," Angelica said."

"Well, you should," Thomas replied. "I saw it. We all did. And if I were you, I'd be trying my hardest to find a way off this island. And I'd wanna do it before that thing comes back."

”So what should we do?” Lafayette said finally.

<”Ooh! We can try that thing!” Alexander shouted out. Everyone looked at him, confused. “You know, with the shells.”

”You mean spelling out ‘help?’” Thomas said. Alexander nodded and Thomas sighed. “Fine, although I don't understand why they might see shells but not a giant fire.” He looked at everyone. “Let’s get collecting!” he said with mock enthusiasm.

”That's the spirit!” Hercules cried unironically. “But, uh… Can we wait until tomorrow? You know, when we have nice, helpful things, like the sun.”

Thomas looked at the sky: it was dark and full of small pinpricks of light. “Oh, yeah. Sure.” Alexander rolled his eyes.

Thomas wasn't looking forward to another sleepless night. Luckily, Alexander was awake again, too.

”Hey,” he said, sitting down next to Thomas.

”Hey.” An uncomfortable silence fell between the two as Thomas wracked his brain for anything to talk about. Alexander broke the quiet.

”Hey, uh, look. About earlier today.” He paused and fiddled with his shoelace, looking at the sand. “Sorry I acted so weird. I just…”

”I'm not gonna force you to apologize to me, Alexander,” Thomas said, his voice warm. “God knows I'd never want to do it back at work.” Alexander didn't laugh.

”Yeah, but I still want to say it,” he said, his voice becoming fainter by the second. “You and Laf were really close, that's all. I kind of got a little… A little -- jealous, I guess.”

Thomas said nothing, stunned. Alexander. jealous? Of Lafayette?

”Well, that's all I wanted to say,” Alexander said quickly, and he stood up, brushing sand off of his pants. Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but he cut him off. “Good night,” Alexander said as he started to walk back to where he was trying to sleep earlier, leaving Thomas to ponder his thoughts, letting Alexander's words tumble around in his head for the remainder of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am SO SORRY for the long absence. I had some personal issues to work through, and it took a VERY long time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, though. I can't promise this will be updated again, although I hope it will.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me <3


	20. NOT an update.

Hey, everyone.

I have a lot of shit to say. (Can I say my shit, New York? Sorry. _Make Happy_ reference.) Just so you're all aware, this isn't a fic update. If you don't want to read this, you don't have to.

I was thinking about getting back into writing when I remembered I have a fic (it's this one). I decided to reread chapter one, which made me realize that first off, I'm not too bad of a writer. Second off I used "daddy," which made me cringe, as someone who really hates that (insert that one Vine here).

Then I started thinking about how I really, really don't like Hamilton anymore. I mean, sure, the musical still goes fucking hard as shit. I love it. But I am 100% not into writing fics for the fandom (I'm really sorry. You've all been incredibly kind and supportive). I can say with certainty that I won't be updating this fic anymore. And I'm really sorry about that.

There is some good news, though! I love writing and am in a lot of fandoms that I love with all my heart -- Percy Jackson, Detroit: Become Human, Harry Potter, Carry On, and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, just to name a few. So if you liked this fic, keep me in the back of your mind. I'll be back with some works that are: one, finished completely before I start posting chapters, and two, related to the above content.

Once again, I want to say thank you to anyone who commented good things on this work. I also wanted to apologize again for never completing this. Once upon a time, when I was still neck-deep in this fandom, I would have finished this.

Thank you. (I hope you're happy.)

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at gracekaro. Stop by to keep in touch!


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